Dependence of Aerosol Light Absorption and Single-Scattering Albedo On Ambient Relative Humidity for Sulfate Aerosols with Black Carbon Cores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redemann, Jens; Russell, Philip B.; Hamill, Patrick

2001-01-01

Atmospheric aerosols frequently contain hygroscopic sulfate species and black carbon (soot) inclusions. In this paper we report results of a modeling study to determine the change in aerosol absorption due to increases in ambient relative humidity (RH), for three common sulfate species, assuming that the soot mass fraction is present as a single concentric core within each particle. Because of the lack of detailed knowledge about various input parameters to models describing internally mixed aerosol particle optics, we focus on results that were aimed at determining the maximum effect that particle humidification may have on aerosol light absorption. In the wavelength range from 450 to 750 nm, maximum absorption humidification factors (ratio of wet to 'dry=30% RH' absorption) for single aerosol particles are found to be as large as 1.75 when the RH changes from 30 to 99.5%. Upon lesser humidification from 30 to 80% RH, absorption humidification for single particles is only as much as 1.2, even for the most favorable combination of initial ('dry') soot mass fraction and particle size. Integrated over monomodal lognormal particle size distributions, maximum absorption humidification factors range between 1.07 and 1.15 for humidification from 30 to 80% and between 1.1 and 1.35 for humidification from 30 to 95% RH for all species considered. The largest humidification factors at a wavelength of 450 nm are obtained for 'dry' particle size distributions that peak at a radius of 0.05 microns, while the absorption humidification factors at 700 nm are largest for 'dry' size distributions that are dominated by particles in the radius range of 0.06 to 0.08 microns. Single-scattering albedo estimates at ambient conditions are often based on absorption measurements at low RH (approx. 30%) and the assumption that aerosol absorption does not change upon humidification (i.e., absorption humidification equal to unity). Our modeling study suggests that this assumption alone can

Comparison of Aerosol Single Scattering Albedos Derived by Diverse Techniques In Two North Atlantic Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Redemann, J.; Schmid, B.; Bergstrom, R. W.; Livingston, J. M.; McIntosh, D. M.; Ramirez, S. A.; Hartley, S.; Hobbs, P. V.; Quinn, P. K.

2002-01-01

Aerosol single scattering albedo omega (the ratio of scattering to extinction) is important in determining aerosol climatic effects, in explaining relationships between calculated and measured radiative fluxes, and in retrieving aerosol optical depths from satellite radiances. Recently, two experiments in the North Atlantic region, the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) and the Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2), determined aerosol omega by a variety of techniques. The techniques included fitting of calculated to measured radiative fluxes; retrievals of omega from skylight radiances; best fits of complex refractive index to profiles of backscatter extinction, and size distribution; and in situ measurements of scattering and absorption at the surface and aloft. Both TARFOX and ACE-2 found a fairly wide range of values for omega at midvisable wavelengths approx. 550 nm, with omega(sub midvis) greater than or equal to 0.85 and less than or equal to 0.99 for the marine aerosol impacted by continental pollution. Frequency distributions of omega could usually be approximated by lognormals in omega(sub max) - omega, with some occurrence of bimodality, suggesting the influence of different aerosol sources or processing. In both TARFOX and ACE-2, closure tests between measured and calculated radiative fluxes yielded best-fit values of omega(sub midvis) 0.90 +/- 0.04 for the polluted boundary layer. Although these results have the virtue of describing the column aerosol unperturbed by sampling, they are subject to questions about representativeness and other uncertainties (e.g., thermal offsets, unknown gas absorption) The other techniques gave larger values for omega(sub midvis) for the polluted boundary layer, with a typical result of omega(sub midvis) = 0.95 +/- 0.04. Current uncertainties in omega are large in terms of climate effects More tests are needed of the consistency among different methods and of

Scattering of aerosol particles by a Hermite-Gaussian beam in marine atmosphere.

PubMed

Huang, Qingqing; Cheng, Mingjian; Guo, Lixin; Li, Jiangting; Yan, Xu; Liu, Songhua

2017-07-01

Based on the complex-source-point method and the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory, the scattering properties and polarization of aerosol particles by a Hermite-Gaussian (HG) beam in marine atmosphere is investigated. The influences of beam mode, beam width, and humidity on the scattered field are analyzed numerically. Results indicate that when the number of HG beam modes u (v) increase, the radar cross section of aerosol particles alternating appears at maximum and minimum values in the forward and backward scattering, respectively, because of the special petal-shaped distribution of the HG beam. The forward and backward scattering of aerosol particles decreases with the increase in beam waist. When beam waist is less than the radius of the aerosol particle, a minimum value is observed in the forward direction. The scattering properties of aerosol particles by the HG beam are more sensitive to the change in relative humidity compared with those by the plane wave and the Gaussian beam (GB). The HG beam shows superiority over the plane wave and the GB in detecting changes in the relative humidity of marine atmosphere aerosol. The effects of relative humidity on the polarization of the HG beam have been numerically analyzed in detail.

Comparison of Aerosol Single Scattering Albedos Derived By Diverse Techniques in Two North Atlantic Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Redemann, J.; Schmid, B.; Bergstrom, R. W.; Livingston, J. M.; McIntosh, D. M.; Hartley, S.; Hobbs, P. V.; Quinn, P. K.; Carrico, C. M.;

Quantifying organic aerosol single scattering albedo over tropical biomass burning regions using ground-based observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, J. E.

2016-12-01

Despite growing evidence of light-absorbing organic aerosols (OAs), OA light absorption has been poorly understood due to difficulties in aerosol light absorption measurements. In this study, we developed an empirical method to quantify OA single scattering albedo (SSA), the ratio of light scattering to extinction, using ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) observation. Our method includes partitioning fine-mode aerosol optical depth (fAOD) to individual aerosol's optical depth (AOD), separating black carbon and OA absorption aerosol optical depths, and finally binding OA SSA and sulfate+nitrate AOD. Our best estimate of OA SSA over tropical biomass burning region is 0.91 at 550nm with a range of 0.82-0.93. It implies the common OA SSA values of 0.96-1.0 in aerosol CTMs and GCMs significantly underrepresent OA light absorption. Model experiments with prescribed OA SSA showed that the enhanced absorption of solar radiation due to light absorbing OA yields global mean radiative forcing is +0.09 Wm-2 at the TOA, +0.21 Wm-2 at the atmosphere, and -0.12 Wm-2 at the surface. Compared to the previous assessment of OA radiative forcing reported in AeroCom II project, our result indicate that OA light absorption causes TOA radiative forcing by OA to change from negative (i.e., cooling effect) to positive (warming effect).

Multi-Parameter Aerosol Scattering Sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, Paul S.; Fischer, David G.

2011-01-01

This work relates to the development of sensors that measure specific aerosol properties. These properties are in the form of integrated moment distributions, i.e., total surface area, total mass, etc., or mathematical combinations of these moment distributions. Specifically, the innovation involves two fundamental features: a computational tool to design and optimize such sensors and the embodiment of these sensors in actual practice. The measurement of aerosol properties is a problem of general interest. Applications include, but are not limited to, environmental monitoring, assessment of human respiratory health, fire detection, emission characterization and control, and pollutant monitoring. The objectives for sensor development include increased accuracy and/or dynamic range, the inclusion in a single sensor of the ability to measure multiple aerosol properties, and developing an overall physical package that is rugged, compact, and low in power consumption, so as to enable deployment in harsh or confined field applications, and as distributed sensor networks. Existing instruments for this purpose include scattering photometers, direct-reading mass instruments, Beta absorption devices, differential mobility analyzers, and gravitational samplers. The family of sensors reported here is predicated on the interaction of light and matter; specifically, the scattering of light from distributions of aerosol particles. The particular arrangement of the sensor, e.g. the wavelength(s) of incident radiation, the number and location of optical detectors, etc., can be derived so as to optimize the sensor response to aerosol properties of practical interest. A key feature of the design is the potential embodiment as an extremely compact, integrated microsensor package. This is of fundamental importance, as it enables numerous previously inaccessible applications. The embodiment of these sensors is inherently low maintenance and high reliability by design. The novel and

Measurements and Modeling of Aerosol Absorption and Single Scattering Albedo at Ambient Relative Hum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Redemann, J.; Russell, P. B.; Hamill, P.

2000-01-01

Uncertainties in the aerosol single scattering albedo have been identified to be an important source of errors in current large-scale model estimates of the direct aerosol radiative forcing of climate. A number of investigators have obtained estimates of the single scattering albedo from a variety of remote sensing and in situ measurements during aerosol field experiments. During the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX, 1996) for example, estimates of the aerosol single scattering albedo were obtained (1) as a best-fit parameter in comparing radiative flux changes measured by airborne pyranometer to those computed from independently measured aerosol properties; (2) from estimates of the aerosol complex index of refraction derived using a combination of airborne sunphotometer, lidar backscatter and in situ size distribution measurements; and (3) from airborne measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption using nephelometers and absorption photometers. In this paper, we briefly compare the results of the latter two methods for two TARFOX case studies, since those techniques provide height-resolved information about the aerosol single scattering albedo. Estimates of the aerosol single scattering albedo from nephelometer and absorption photometer measurements require knowledge of the scattering and absorption humidification (i.e., the increase in these properties in response to an increase in ambient relative humidity), since both measurements are usually carried out at a relative humidity different from the ambient atmosphere. In principle, the scattering humidification factor can be measured, but there is currently no technique widely available to measure the absorption of an aerosol sample as a function of relative humidity. Frequently, for lack of better knowledge, the absorption humidification is assumed to be unity (meaning that there is no change in aerosol absorption due to an increase in ambient relative humidity). This

Size distribution and scattering phase function of aerosol particles retrieved from sky brightness measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Y. J.; Gitelson, A.; Karnieli, A.; Ganor, E. (Editor); Fraser, R. S.; Nakajima, T.; Mattoo, S.; Holben, B. N.

1994-01-01

Ground-based measurements of the solar transmission and sky radiance in a horizontal plane through the Sun are taken in several geographical regions and aerosol types: dust in a desert transition zone in Israel, sulfate particles in Eastern and Western Europe, tropical aerosol in Brazil, and mixed continental/maritime aerosol in California. Stratospheric aerosol was introduced after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991. Therefore measurements taken before the eruption are used to analyze the properties of tropospheric aerosol; measurements from 1992 are also used to detect the particle size and concentration of stratospheric aerosol. The measurements are used to retrieve the size distribution and the scattering phase function at large scattering angles of the undisturbed aerosol particles. The retrieved properties represent an average on the entire atmospheric column. A comparison between the retrieved phase function for a scattering angle of 120 deg, with phase function predicted from the retrieved size distribution, is used to test the assumption of particle homogeneity and sphericity in radiative transfer models (Mie theory). The effect was found to be small (20% +/- 15%). For the stratospheric aerosol (sulfates), as expected, the phase function was very well predicted using the Mie theory. A model with a power law distribution, based on the spectral dependence of the optical thickness, alpha, cannot estimate accurately the phase function (up to 50% error for lambda = 0.87 microns). Before the Pinatubo eruption the ratio between the volumes of sulfate and coarse particles was very well correlated with alpha. The Pinatubo stratospheric aerosol destroyed this correlation. The aerosol optical properties are compared with analysis of the size, shape, and composition of the individual particles by electron microscopy of in situ samples. The measured volume size distribution before the injection of stratospheric aerosol consistently show two modes, sulfate

Aerosol scattering and absorption modulation transfer function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadot, Dan; Kopeika, Norman S.

1993-08-01

Recent experimental measurements of overall atmospheric modulation transfer function (MTF) indicate significant difference between the turbulence and overall atmospheric MTFs, except often at midday when turbulence is strong. We suggest here a physical explanation for those results which essentially relates to what we call a practical instrumentation-based atmospheric aerosol MTF which is a modification of the classical aerosol MTF theory. It is shown that system field-of-view and dynamic range affect strongly aerosol and overall atmospheric MTFs. It is often necessary to choose between MTF and SNR depending upon dynamic range requirements. Also, a new approach regarding aerosol absorption is presented. It is shown that aerosol-absorbed irradiance is spatial frequency dependent and enhances the degradation in image quality arising from received scattered light. This is most relevant for thermal imaging. An analytically corrected model for the aerosol MTF is presented which is relevant for imaging. An important conclusion is that the aerosol MTF is often the dominant part in the actual overall atmospheric MTF all across the optical spectral region.

Aethalometer multiple scattering correction Cref for mineral dust aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Biagio, Claudia; Formenti, Paola; Cazaunau, Mathieu; Pangui, Edouard; Marchand, Nicolas; Doussin, Jean-François

2017-08-01

In this study we provide a first estimate of the Aethalometer multiple scattering correction Cref for mineral dust aerosols. Cref is an empirical constant used to correct the aerosol absorption coefficient measurements for the multiple scattering artefact of the Aethalometer; i.e. the filter fibres on which aerosols are deposited scatter light and this is miscounted as absorption. The Cref at 450 and 660 nm was obtained from the direct comparison of Aethalometer data (Magee Sci. AE31) with (i) the absorption coefficient calculated as the difference between the extinction and scattering coefficients measured by a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Extinction analyser (CAPS PMex) and a nephelometer respectively at 450 nm and (ii) the absorption coefficient from a MAAP (Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer) at 660 nm. Measurements were performed on seven dust aerosol samples generated in the laboratory by the mechanical shaking of natural parent soils issued from different source regions worldwide. The single scattering albedo (SSA) at 450 and 660 nm and the size distribution of the aerosols were also measured. Cref for mineral dust varies between 1.81 and 2.56 for a SSA of 0.85-0.96 at 450 nm and between 1.75 and 2.28 for a SSA of 0.98-0.99 at 660 nm. The calculated mean for dust is 2.09 (±0.22) at 450 nm and 1.92 (±0.17) at 660 nm. With this new Cref the dust absorption coefficient by the Aethalometer is about 2 % (450 nm) and 11 % (660 nm) higher than that obtained by using Cref = 2.14 at both 450 and 660 nm, as usually assumed in the literature. This difference induces a change of up to 3 % in the dust SSA at 660 nm. The Cref seems to be independent of the fine and coarse particle size fractions, and so the obtained Cref can be applied to dust both close to sources and following transport. Additional experiments performed with pure kaolinite minerals and polluted ambient aerosols indicate Cref of 2.49 (±0.02) and 2.32 (±0.01) at 450 and 660 nm (SSA = 0.96-0.97) for

Extinction-to-Backscatter Ratios of Lofted Aerosol Layers Observed During the First Three Months of CALIPSO Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omar, Ali H.; Vaughan, Mark A.; Liu, Zhaoyan; Hu, Yongxiang; Reagan, John A.; Winker, David M.

2007-01-01

Case studies from the first three months of the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Spaceborne Observations (CALIPSO) measurements of lofted aerosol layers are analyzed using transmittance [Young, 1995] and two-wavelength algorithms [Vaughan et al., 2004] to determine the aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratios at 532 and 1064 nm. The transmittance method requires clear air below the layer so that the transmittance through the layer can be determined. Suitable scenes are selected from the browse images and clear air below features is identified by low 532 nm backscatter signal and confirmed by low depolarization and color ratios. The transmittance and two-wavelength techniques are applied to a number of lofted layers and the extinction-to-backscatter ratios are compared with values obtained from the CALIPSO aerosol models [Omar et al., 2004]. The results obtained from these studies are used to adjust the aerosol models and develop observations based extinction-to-backscatter ratio look-up tables and phase functions. Values obtained by these techniques are compared to Sa determinations using other independent methods with a goal of developing probability distribution functions of aerosol type-specific extinction to backscatter ratios. In particular, the results are compared to values determined directly by the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) during the CALIPSO CloudSat Validation Experiments (CCVEX) and Sa determined by the application of the two-wavelength lidar Constrained Ratio Aerosol Model-fit (CRAM) retrieval approach [Cattrall et al., 2005; Reagan et al., 2004] to the HSRL data. The results are also compared to values derived using the empirical relationship between the multiple-scattering fraction and the linear depolarization ratio by using Monte Carlo simulations of water clouds [Hu et al., 2006].

Airborne Cavity Ring-Down Measurement of Aerosol Extinction and Scattering During the Aerosol IOP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strawa, A. W.; Ricci, K.; Provencal, R.; Schmid, B.; Covert, D.; Elleman, R.; Arnott, P.

2003-01-01

Large uncertainties in the effects of aerosols on climate require improved in-situ measurements of extinction coefficient and single-scattering albedo. This paper describes preliminary results from Cadenza, a new continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) instrument designed to address these uncertainties. Cadenza measures the aerosol extinction coefficient for 675 nm and 1550 nm light, and simultaneously measures the scattering coefficient at 675 nm. In the past year Cadenza was deployed in the Asian Dust Above Monterey (ADAM) and DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period (IOP) field projects. During these flights Cadenza produced measurements of aerosol extinction in the range from 0.2 to 300 Mm-1 with an estimated precision of 0.1 Min-1 for 1550 nm light and 0.2 Mm-1 for 675 nm light. Cadenza data from the ADAM and Aerosol IOP missions compared favorably with data from the other instruments aboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft and participating in those projects.= We present comparisons between the Cadenza measurements and those friom a TSI nephelometer, Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), and the AATS 14 sun-photometer. Measurements of the optical properties of smoke and dust plumes sampled during these campaigns are presented and estimates of heating rates due to these plumes are made.

Characterization of aerosol scattering and spectral absorption by unique methods: a polar/imaging nephelometer and spectral reflectance measurements of aerosol samples collected on filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolgos, Gergely; Martins, J. Vanderlei; Remer, Lorraine A.; Correia, Alexandre L.; Tabacniks, Manfredo; Lima, Adriana R.

2010-02-01

Characterization of aerosol scattering and absorption properties is essential to accurate radiative transfer calculations in the atmosphere. Applications of this work include remote sensing of aerosols, corrections for aerosol distortions in satellite imagery of the surface, global climate models, and atmospheric beam propagation. Here we demonstrate successful instrument development at the Laboratory for Aerosols, Clouds and Optics at UMBC that better characterizes aerosol scattering phase matrix using an imaging polar nephelometer (LACO-I-Neph) and enables measurement of spectral aerosol absorption from 200 nm to 2500 nm. The LACO-I-Neph measures the scattering phase function from 1.5° to 178.5° scattering angle with sufficient sensitivity to match theoretical expectations of Rayleigh scattering of various gases. Previous measurements either lack a sufficiently wide range of measured scattering angles or their sensitivity is too low and therefore the required sample amount is prohibitively high for in situ measurements. The LACO-I-Neph also returns expected characterization of the linear polarization signal of Rayleigh scattering. Previous work demonstrated the ability of measuring spectral absorption of aerosol particles using a reflectance technique characterization of aerosol samples collected on Nuclepore filters. This first generation methodology yielded absorption measurements from 350 nm to 2500 nm. Here we demonstrate the possibility of extending this wavelength range into the deep UV, to 200 nm. This extended UV region holds much promise in identifying and characterizing aerosol types and species. The second generation, deep UV, procedure requires careful choice of filter substrates. Here the choice of substrates is explored and preliminary results are provided.

Airborne Aerosol in Situ Measurements during TCAP: A Closure Study of Total Scattering

DOE PAGES

Kassianov, Evgueni I.; Berg, Larry K.; Pekour, Mikhail S.; ...

2015-07-31

We present here a framework for calculating the total scattering of both non-absorbing and absorbing aerosol at ambient conditions from aircraft data. The synergistically employed aircraft data involve aerosol microphysical, chemical, and optical components and ambient relative humidity measurements. Our framework is developed emphasizing the explicit use of the complementary chemical composition data for estimating the complex refractive index (RI) of particles, and thus obtaining improved ambient size spectra derived from Optical Particle Counter (OPC) measurements. The feasibility of our framework for improved calculations of total aerosol scattering is demonstrated for different ambient conditions with a wide range of relativemore » humidities (from 5 to 80%) using three types of data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) G-1 aircraft during the recent Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP). Namely, these three types of data employed are: (1) size distributions measured by an Ultra High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS; 0.06-1 µm), a Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer (PCASP; 0.1-3 µm) and a Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer (CAS; 0.6- >10 µm), (2) chemical composition data measured by an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS; 0.06-0.6 µm) and a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2; 0.06-0.6 µm), and (3) the dry total scattering coefficient measured by a TSI integrating nephelometer at three wavelengths (0.45, 0.55, 0.7 µm) and scattering enhancement factor measured with a humidification system at three RHs (near 45%, 65% and 90%) at a single wavelength (0.525 µm). We demonstrate that good agreement (~10% on average) between the observed and calculated scattering at these three wavelengths can be obtained using the best available chemical composition data for the RI-based correction of the OPC-derived size spectra. We also demonstrate that ignoring the RI-based correction and using non-representative RI values can cause a substantial

Characteristics of aerosol light scattering and absorption properties observed at Gosan, Korea, during GOPOEX 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, C.; Kim, S. W.; Sheridan, P. J.; Gustafsson, O.; Lee, M.; Yoon, S. C.

2016-12-01

Anthropogenic fine pollution and wind-blown mineral dust aerosols have a significant effect on the regional radiation budget by scattering or absorbing the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface. We investigate the optical and physical properties of dust and pollution aerosols at Gosan Climate Observatory (GCO), Korea during Gosan Pollution Experiment 2014 (GOPOEX 2014; January 2014).Mean values of aerosol scattering coefficient and absorption coefficient during GOPOEX 2014 were 72 ± 86 Mm-1 and 6 ± 5 Mm-1 at 550 nm, respectively. Aerosol scattering coefficient and absorption coefficient during dust episodes were 245 ± 171 Mm-1 and 22 ± 13 Mm-1 at 550 nm, which were approximately 3.5 times greater than mean values during GOPOEX 2014. Values for scattering and absorption coefficient of pollution episodes were recorded as 153 ± 95 Mm-1 and 12 ± 7 Mm-1 at 550 nm. Therefore, single scattering albedo of pollution episodes (0.92 ± 0.02) was slightly higher than those of dust episodes (0.90 ± 0.03). This is because that pollutant aerosols include more scattering fraction such as SO42-, and NO3- in fine particulate matter emitted from industrial areas in the eastern coastal region of China while dust aerosols are transported from North China to Gosan.Aerosol optical properties are influenced by where the air mass is transported from, either South China or North China. The mean values of aerosol scattering coefficient and absorption coefficient when air mass was transported from South China were 136 ± 132 Mm-1 and 15 ± 14 Mm-1 at 550 nm whereas those from North China were 108 ± 112 Mm-1 and 8 ± 7 Mm-1 at 550 nm. Single scattering albedo are almost identical as 0.9 ± 0.03 for both air masses.Carbonaceous composition of aerosols, which occupy a considerable fraction of fine particulate matter, also depends on the origin of the air mass. Radiocarbon (14C) is a good indicator for distinguishing between fossil combustion and biomass combustion. Detailed source

An Aerosol Extinction-to-Backscatter Ratio Database Derived from the NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network: Applications for Space-based Lidar Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; Campbell, James R.; Spinhime, James D.; Berkoff, Timothy A.; Holben, Brent; Tsay, Si-Chee; Bucholtz, Anthony

2004-01-01

Backscatter lidar signals are a function of both backscatter and extinction. Hence, these lidar observations alone cannot separate the two quantities. The aerosol extinction-to-backscatter ratio, S, is the key parameter required to accurately retrieve extinction and optical depth from backscatter lidar observations of aerosol layers. S is commonly defined as 4*pi divided by the product of the single scatter albedo and the phase function at 180-degree scattering angle. Values of S for different aerosol types are not well known, and are even more difficult to determine when aerosols become mixed. Here we present a new lidar-sunphotometer S database derived from Observations of the NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET). MPLNET is a growing worldwide network of eye-safe backscatter lidars co-located with sunphotometers in the NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). Values of S for different aerosol species and geographic regions will be presented. A framework for constructing an S look-up table will be shown. Look-up tables of S are needed to calculate aerosol extinction and optical depth from space-based lidar observations in the absence of co-located AOD data. Applications for using the new S look-up table to reprocess aerosol products from NASA's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) will be discussed.

Evaluating Model Parameterizations of Submicron Aerosol Scattering and Absorption with in situ Data from ARCTAS 2008

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alvarado, Matthew J.; Lonsdale, Chantelle R.; Macintyre, Helen L.; Bian, Huisheng; Chin, Mian; Ridley, David A.; Heald, Colette L.; Thornhill, Kenneth L.; Anderson, Bruce E.; Cubison, Michael J.;

Evaluating model parameterizations of submicron aerosol scattering and absorption with in situ data from ARCTAS 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarado, Matthew J.; Lonsdale, Chantelle R.; Macintyre, Helen L.; Bian, Huisheng; Chin, Mian; Ridley, David A.; Heald, Colette L.; Thornhill, Kenneth L.; Anderson, Bruce E.; Cubison, Michael J.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Kondo, Yutaka; Sahu, Lokesh K.; Dibb, Jack E.; Wang, Chien

2016-07-01

Accurate modeling of the scattering and absorption of ultraviolet and visible radiation by aerosols is essential for accurate simulations of atmospheric chemistry and climate. Closure studies using in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption can be used to evaluate and improve models of aerosol optical properties without interference from model errors in aerosol emissions, transport, chemistry, or deposition rates. Here we evaluate the ability of four externally mixed, fixed size distribution parameterizations used in global models to simulate submicron aerosol scattering and absorption at three wavelengths using in situ data gathered during the 2008 Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) campaign. The four models are the NASA Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) Combo model, GEOS-Chem v9-02, the baseline configuration of a version of GEOS-Chem with online radiative transfer calculations (called GC-RT), and the Optical Properties of Aerosol and Clouds (OPAC v3.1) package. We also use the ARCTAS data to perform the first evaluation of the ability of the Aerosol Simulation Program (ASP v2.1) to simulate submicron aerosol scattering and absorption when in situ data on the aerosol size distribution are used, and examine the impact of different mixing rules for black carbon (BC) on the results. We find that the GMI model tends to overestimate submicron scattering and absorption at shorter wavelengths by 10-23 %, and that GMI has smaller absolute mean biases for submicron absorption than OPAC v3.1, GEOS-Chem v9-02, or GC-RT. However, the changes to the density and refractive index of BC in GC-RT improve the simulation of submicron aerosol absorption at all wavelengths relative to GEOS-Chem v9-02. Adding a variable size distribution, as in ASP v2.1, improves model performance for scattering but not for absorption, likely due to the assumption in ASP v2.1 that BC is present at a constant mass fraction

Primary and secondary contributions to aerosol light scattering and absorption in Mexico City during the MILAGRO 2006 campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, G.; Arnott, W. P.; Jimenez, J. L.; Aiken, A. C.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.

2009-06-01

A photoacoustic spectrometer, a nephelometer, an aethalometer, and an aerosol mass spectrometer were used to measure at ground level real-time aerosol light absorption, scattering, and chemistry at an urban site located in North East Mexico City (Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexican Petroleum Institute, denoted by IMP), as part of the Megacity Impact on Regional and Global Environments field experiment, MILAGRO, in March 2006. Photoacoustic and reciprocal nephelometer measurements at 532 nm accomplished with a single instrument compare favorably with conventional measurements made with an aethalometer and a TSI nephelometer. The diurnally averaged single scattering albedo at 532 nm was found to vary from 0.60 to 0.85 with the peak value at midday and the minimum value at 07:00 a.m. local time, indicating that the Mexico City plume is likely to have a net warming effect on local climate. The peak value is associated with strong photochemical generation of secondary aerosol. It is estimated that the photochemical production of secondary aerosol (inorganic and organic) is approximately 75% of the aerosol mass concentration and light scattering in association with the peak single scattering albedo. A strong correlation of aerosol scattering at 532 nm and total aerosol mass concentration was found, and an average mass scattering efficiency factor of 3.8 m2/g was determined. Comparisons of photoacoustic and aethalometer light absorption with oxygenated organic aerosol concentration (OOA) indicate a very small systematic bias of the filter based measurement associated with OOA and the peak aerosol single scattering albedo.

Primary and secondary contributions to aerosol light scattering and absorption in Mexico City during the MILAGRO 2006 campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, G.; Arnott, W. P.; Jimenez, J. L.; Aiken, A. C.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.

2008-09-01

A photoacoustic spectrometer, a nephelometer, an aetholemeter, and an aerosol mass spectrometer were used to measure at ground level real-time aerosol light absorption, scattering, and chemistry at an urban site located in north east Mexico City (Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexican Petroleum Institute, denoted by IMP), as part of the Megacity Impact on Regional and Global Environments field experiment, MILAGRO, in March 2006. Photoacoustic and reciprocal nephelometer measurements at 532 nm accomplished with a single instrument compare favorably with conventional measurements made with an aethelometer and a TSI nephelometer. The diurnally averaged single scattering albedo at 532 nm was found to vary from 0.60 to 0.85 with the peak value at midday and the minimum value at 7 a.m. local time, indicating that the Mexico City plume is likely to have a net warming effect on local climate. The peak value is associated with strong photochemical generation of secondary aerosol. It is estimated that the same-day photochemical production of secondary aerosol (inorganic and organic) is approximately 40 percent of the aerosol mass concentration and light scattering in association with the peak single scattering albedo. A strong correlation of aerosol scattering at 532 nm and total aerosol mass concentration was found, and an average mass scattering efficiency factor of 3.8 m2/g was determined. Comparisons of photoacoustic and aethalometer light absorption with oxygenated organic aerosol concentration (OOA) indicate a very small systematic bias of the filter based measurement associated with OOA and the peak aerosol single scattering albedo.

Retrieval of the scattering and microphysical properties of aerosols from ground-based optical measurements including polarization. I. Method.

PubMed

Vermeulen, A; Devaux, C; Herman, M

2000-11-20

A method has been developed for retrieving the scattering and microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosol from measurements of solar transmission, aureole, and angular distribution of the scattered and polarized sky light in the solar principal plane. Numerical simulations of measurements have been used to investigate the feasibility of the method and to test the algorithm's performance. It is shown that the absorption and scattering properties of an aerosol, i.e., the single-scattering albedo, the phase function, and the polarization for single scattering of incident unpolarized light, can be obtained by use of radiative transfer calculations to correct the values of scattered radiance and polarized radiance for multiple scattering, Rayleigh scattering, and the influence of ground. The method requires only measurement of the aerosol's optical thickness and an estimate of the ground's reflectance and does not need any specific assumption about properties of the aerosol. The accuracy of the retrieved phase function and polarization of the aerosols is examined at near-infrared wavelengths (e.g., 0.870 mum). The aerosol's microphysical properties (size distribution and complex refractive index) are derived in a second step. The real part of the refractive index is a strong function of the polarization, whereas the imaginary part is strongly dependent on the sky's radiance and the retrieved single-scattering albedo. It is demonstrated that inclusion of polarization data yields the real part of the refractive index.

Spectral structure of laser light scattering revisited: bandwidths of nonresonant scattering lidars.

PubMed

She, C Y

2001-09-20

It is well known that scattering lidars, i.e., Mie, aerosol-wind, Rayleigh, high-spectral-resolution, molecular-wind, rotational Raman, and vibrational Raman lidars, are workhorses for probing atmospheric properties, including the backscatter ratio, aerosol extinction coefficient, temperature, pressure, density, and winds. The spectral structure of molecular scattering (strength and bandwidth) and its constituent spectra associated with Rayleigh and vibrational Raman scattering are reviewed. Revisiting the correct name by distinguishing Cabannes scattering from Rayleigh scattering, and sharpening the definition of each scattering component in the Rayleigh scattering spectrum, the review allows a systematic, logical, and useful comparison in strength and bandwidth between each scattering component and in receiver bandwidths (for both nighttime and daytime operation) between the various scattering lidars for atmospheric sensing.

Absorbing and scattering aerosols over the source region of biomass burning emissions: Implications in the assessment of optical and radiative properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Atinderpal; Srivastava, Rohit; Rastogi, Neeraj; Singh, Darshan

2016-02-01

The current study focuses on the assessment of model simulated optical and radiative properties of aerosols incorporating the measured chemical composition of aerosol samples collected at Patiala during October, 2011-February, 2012. Monthly average mass concentration of PM2.5, elemental carbon (EC), primary organic carbon (POC), water-soluble (WS) and insoluble (INS) aerosols ranged from 120 to 192, 6.2 to 7.2, 20 to 39, 59 to 111 and 35 to 90 μg m-3, respectively. Mass concentration of different components of aerosols was further used for the assessment of optical properties derived from Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) model simulations. Microtops based measured aerosol optical depth (AOD500) ranged from 0.47 to 0.62 showing maximum value during November and December, and minimum during February. Ångström exponent (α380-870) remained high (>0.90) throughout the study period except in February (0.74), suggesting predominance of fine mode particles over the study region. The observed ratio of scattering to absorbing aerosols was incorporated in OPAC model simulations and single scattering albedo (SSA at 500 nm) so obtained ranged between 0.80 and 0.92 with relatively low values during the period of extensive biomass burning. In the present study, SBDART based estimated values of aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) at the surface (SRF) and top of the atmosphere (TOA) ranged from -31 to -66 Wm-2 and -2 to -18 W m-2 respectively. The atmospheric ARF, ranged between + 18 and + 58 Wm-2 resulting in the atmospheric heating rate between 0.5 and 1.6 K day-1. These results signify the role of scattering and absorbing aerosols in affecting the magnitude of aerosol forcing.

Light scattering measurements with Titan's aerosols analogues produced by dusty plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadamcik, E.; Renard, J.-B.; Szopa, C.; Cernogora, G.; Levasseur-Regourd, A. C.

The Titan s atmosphere contains solid aerosols produced by the photochemistry of nitrogen and methane These aerosols are at the origin of the characteristic brown yellow colour of Titan During the descent of the Huygens probe the 14 th January 2005 optical measurements of the Titan s haze and Titan s surface have been done In order to explain the obtained results laboratory simulations are necessary We produce analogues of the Titan s aerosols in a RF capacitively coupled low-pressure plasma in a N 2 --CH 4 mixture representative of the Titan s atmosphere Szopa et al 2006 Szopa et al this conference The morphology of the produced solid aerosols is observed by SEM analyses They are quasi spherical and their mean size is function of the plasma conditions Moreover their colour changes from yellow to brown as a function of CH 4 ratio in the plasma In order to have information on the optical properties of the produced aerosols measurements have been performed with the PROGRA2 experiment Renard et al 2002 The PROGRA2 experiment measures the phase dependence of the linear polarization of the light scattered by dust particles for two wavelengths 543 5 nm and 632 8 nm The particles are lifted either in microgravity in the CNES ESA dedicated airplane or by an air-draught in ground-based conditions The aim of this work is to build a database for further modelling of the optical properties of Titan s in connection with the Huygens data These particles have also an astrophysical interest as organic compounds Hadamcik et

Comprehensive Airborne in Situ Characterization of Atmospheric Aerosols: From Angular Light Scattering to Particle Microphysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa, W. Reed

A comprehensive understanding of atmospheric aerosols is necessary both to understand Earth's climate as well as produce skillful air quality forecasts. In order to advance our understanding of aerosols, the Laboratory for Aerosols, Clouds and Optics (LACO) has recently developed the Imaging Polar Nephelometer instrument concept for the in situ measurement of aerosol scattering properties. Imaging Nephelometers provide measurements of absolute phase function and polarized phase function over a wide angular range, typically 3 degrees to 177 degrees, with an angular resolution smaller than one degree. The first of these instruments, the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph), has taken part in five airborne field experiments and is the only modern aerosol polar nephelometer to have flown aboard an aircraft. A method for the retrieval of aerosol optical and microphysical properties from I-Neph measurements is presented and the results are compared with existing measurement techniques. The resulting retrieved particle size distributions agree to within experimental error with measurements made by commercial optical particle counters. Additionally, the retrieved real part of the refractive index is generally found to be within the predicted error of 0.02 from the expected values for three species of humidified salt particles, whose refractive index is well established. A synopsis is then presented of aerosol scattering measurements made by the PI-Neph during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) and the Deep Convection Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaigns. To better summarize these extensive datasets a novel aerosol classification scheme is developed, making use of ancillary data that includes gas tracers, chemical composition, aerodynamic particle size and geographic location, all independent of PI-Neph measurements. Principal component analysis (PCA) is then used to reduce the

Using Single-Scattering Albedo Spectral Curvature to Characterize East Asian Aerosol Mixtures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing; Carlson, Barbara E.; Lacis, Andrew A.

2015-01-01

Spectral dependence of aerosol single-scattering albedo (SSA) has been used to infer aerosol composition. In particular, aerosol mixtures dominated by dust absorption will have monotonically increasing SSA with wavelength while that dominated by black carbon absorption has monotonically decreasing SSA spectra. However, by analyzing SSA measured at four wavelengths, 440, 675, 870, and 1020 nm from the Aerosol Robotic Network data set, we find that the SSA spectra over East Asia are frequently peaked at 675 nm. In these cases, we suggest that SSA spectral curvature, defined as the negative of the second derivative of SSA as a function of wavelength, can provide additional information on the composition of these aerosol mixtures. Aerosol SSA spectral curvatures for East Asia during fall and winter are considerably larger than those found in places primarily dominated by biomass burning or dust aerosols. SSA curvature is found to increase as the SSA magnitude decreases. The curvature increases with coarse mode fraction (CMF) to a CMF value of about 0.4, then slightly decreases or remains constant at larger CMF. Mie calculations further verify that the strongest SSA curvature occurs at approx. 40% dust fraction, with 10% scattering aerosol fraction. The nonmonotonic SSA spectral dependence is likely associated with enhanced absorption in the shortwave by dust, absorption by black carbon at longer wavelengths, and also the flattened absorption optical depth spectral dependence due to the increased particle size.

A Long-term Record of Saharan Dust Aerosol Properties from TOMS Observations: Optical Depth and Single Scattering Albedo

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres, Omar; Bhartia, P. K.; Herman, J. R.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The interaction between the strong Rayleigh scattering in the near UV spectral region (330-380 nm) and the processes of aerosol absorption and scattering, produce a clear spectral signal in the upwelling radiance at the top of the atmosphere. This interaction is the basis of the TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) aerosol retrieval technique that can be used for their characterization and to differentiate non-absorbing sulfates from strongly UV-absorbing aerosols such as mineral dust. For absorbing aerosols, the characterization is in terms of the optical depth and single scattering albedo with assumptions about the aerosol plume height. The results for non-absorbing aerosols are not dependent on plume height. Although iron compounds represent only between 5% to 8% of desert dust aerosol mass, hematite (Fe2O3) accounts for most of the near UV absorption. Because of the large ultraviolet absorption characteristic of hematite, the near UV method of aerosol sensing is especially suited for the detection and characterization of desert dust aerosols. Using the combined record of near UV measurements by the Nimbus7 (1978-1992) and Earth Probe (1996-present) TOMS instruments, a global longterm climatology of near UV optical depth and single scattering albedo has been produced. The multi-year long record of mineral aerosol properties over the area of influence of the Saharan desert, will be discussed.

Selection Algorithm for the CALIPSO Lidar Aerosol Extinction-to-Backscatter Ratio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omar, Ali H.; Winker, David M.; Vaughan, Mark A.

2006-01-01

The extinction-to-backscatter ratio (S(sub a)) is an important parameter used in the determination of the aerosol extinction and subsequently the optical depth from lidar backscatter measurements. We outline the algorithm used to determine Sa for the Cloud and Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Spaceborne Observations (CALIPSO) lidar. S(sub a) for the CALIPSO lidar will either be selected from a look-up table or calculated using the lidar measurements depending on the characteristics of aerosol layer. Whenever suitable lofted layers are encountered, S(sub a) is computed directly from the integrated backscatter and transmittance. In all other cases, the CALIPSO observables: the depolarization ratio, delta, the layer integrated attenuated backscatter, beta, and the mean layer total attenuated color ratio, gamma, together with the surface type, are used to aid in aerosol typing. Once the type is identified, a look-up-table developed primarily from worldwide observations, is used to determine the S(sub a) value. The CALIPSO aerosol models include desert dust, biomass burning, background, polluted continental, polluted dust, and marine aerosols.

Aerosol analysis with the Coastal Zone Color Scanner: a simple method for including multiple scattering effects.

PubMed

Gordon, H R; Castaño, D J

1989-04-01

For measurement of aerosols over the ocean, the total radiance L(t) backscattered from the top of a stratified atmosphere which contains both stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols of various types has been computed. A similar computation is carried out for an aerosol-free atmosphere yielding the Rayleigh scattered radiance L(r). The difference L(t) - L(r) is shown to be linearly related to the radiance L(as), which the aerosol would produce in the single scattering approximation. This greatly simplifies the application of aerosol models to aerosol analysis by satellite since adding to, or in some way changing, the aerosol model requires no additional multiple scattering computations. In fact, the only multiple computations required for aerosol analysis are those for determining L(r), which can be performed once and for all. The computations are explicitly applied to Band 4 of the CZCS, which, because of its high radiometric sensitivity and excellent calibration, is ideal for studying aerosols over the ocean. Specifically, the constant A in the relationship L(as) = A(-1)(L(t) - L(r)) is given as a function of position along the scan for four typical orbital-solar position scenarios. The computations show that L(as) can be retrieved from L(t) - L(r) with an average error of no more than 5-7% except at the very edges of the scan.

Aerosol analysis with the Coastal Zone Color Scanner - A simple method for including multiple scattering effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Howard R.; Castano, Diego J.

1989-01-01

A method for studying aerosols over the ocean using Nimbus-7 CZCS data is proposed which circumvents having to perform radiative transfer computations involving the aerosol properties. The method is applied to the CZCS band 4 at 670 nm, and yields the total radiance (L sub t) backscattered from the top of a stratified atmosphere containing both stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols and the the Rayleigh scattered radiance (L sub r). The radiance which the aerosol would produce in the single scattering approximation is retrieved from (L sub t) - (L sub r) with an error of not greater than 5-7 percent.

Inversion of scattered radiance horizon profiles for gaseous concentrations and aerosol parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malchow, H. L.; Whitney, C. K.

1977-01-01

Techniques have been developed and used to invert limb scan measurements for vertical profiles of atmospheric state parameters. The parameters which can be found are concentrations of Rayleigh scatters, ozone, NO2, and aerosols, and aerosol physical properties including a Junge-size distribution parameter and real and imaginary parts of the index of refraction.

Investigating Aerosol Morphology Using Scattering Phase Functions Measured with a Laser Imaging Nephelometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manfred, K.; Adler, G. A.; Erdesz, F.; Franchin, A.; Lamb, K. D.; Schwarz, J. P.; Wagner, N.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Womack, C.; Murphy, D. M.

2017-12-01

Particle morphology has important implications for light scattering and radiative transfer, but can be difficult to measure. Biomass burning and other important aerosol sources can generate a mixture of both spherical and non-spherical particle morphologies, and it is necessary to represent these populations correctly in models. We describe a laser imaging nephelometer that measures the unpolarized scattering phase function of bulk aerosol at 375 and 405 nm using a wide-angle lens and CCD. We deployed this instrument to the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory to measure biomass burning aerosol morphology from controlled fires during the recent FIREX intensive laboratory study. Total integrated scattering signal agreed with that determined by a cavity ring-down photoacoustic spectrometer system and a traditional integrating nephelometer within instrument uncertainties. We compared measured scattering phase functions at 405 nm to theoretical models for spherical (Mie) and fractal (Rayleigh-Debye-Gans) particle morphologies based on the size distribution reported by an optical particle counter. We show that particle morphology can vary dramatically for different fuel types, and present results for two representative fires (pine tree vs arid shrub). We find that Mie theory is inadequate to describe the actual behavior of realistic aerosols from biomass burning in some situations. This study demonstrates the capabilities of the laser imaging nephelometer instrument to provide real-time, in situ information about dominant particle morphology that is vital for accurate radiative transfer calculations.

Organic Aerosols from SÃO Paulo and its Relationship with Aerosol Absorption and Scattering Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artaxo, P.; Brito, J. F.; Rizzo, L. V.

2012-12-01

The megacity of São Paulo with its 19 million people and 7 million cars is a challenge from the point of view of air pollution. High levels of organic aerosols, PM10, black carbon and ozone and the peculiar situation of the large scale use of ethanol fuel makes it a special case. Little is known about the impact of ethanol on air quality and human health and the increase of ethanol as vehicle fuel is rising worldwide An experiment was designed to physico-chemical properties of aerosols in São Paulo, as well as their optical properties. Aerosol size distribution in the size range of 1nm to 10 micrometers is being measured with a Helsinki University SMPS (Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer), an NAIS (Neutral ion Spectrometer) and a GRIMM OPC (Optical Particle Counter). Optical properties are being measured with a TSI Nephelometer and a Thermo MAAP (Multi Angle Absorption Photometer). A CIMEL sunphotometer from the AERONET network measure the aerosol optical depth. Furthermore, a Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS) and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) are used to real-time VOC analysis and aerosol composition, respectively. The ACSM was operated for 3 months continuosly during teh wintertime of 2012. The measured total particle concentration typically varies between 10,000 and 30,000 cm-3 being the lowest late in the night and highest around noon and frequently exceeding 50,000 cm-3. Clear diurnal patterns in aerosol optical properties were observed. Scattering and absorption coefficients typically range between 20 and 100 Mm-1 at 450 nm, and between 10 to 40 Mm-1 at 637 nm, respectively, both of them peaking at 7:00 local time, the morning rush hour. The corresponding single scattering albedo varies between 0.50 and 0.85, indicating a significant contribution of primary absorbing particles to the aerosol population. During the first month a total of seven new particle formation events were observed with growth rates ranging from 9 to 25

Retrieval of Aerosol Optical Properties from Ground-Based Remote Sensing Measurements: Aerosol Asymmetry Factor and Single Scattering Albedo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qie, L.; Li, Z.; Li, L.; Li, K.; Li, D.; Xu, H.

2018-04-01

The Devaux-Vermeulen-Li method (DVL method) is a simple approach to retrieve aerosol optical parameters from the Sun-sky radiance measurements. This study inherited the previous works of retrieving aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) and scattering phase function, the DVL method was modified to derive aerosol asymmetric factor (g). To assess the algorithm performance at various atmospheric aerosol conditions, retrievals from AERONET observations were implemented, and the results are compared with AERONET official products. The comparison shows that both the DVL SSA and g were well correlated with those of AERONET. The RMSD and the absolute value of MBD deviations between the SSAs are 0.025 and 0.015 respectively, well below the AERONET declared SSA uncertainty of 0.03 for all wavelengths. For asymmetry factor g, the RMSD deviations are smaller than 0.02 and the absolute values of MBDs smaller than 0.01 at 675, 870 and 1020 nm bands. Then, considering several factors probably affecting retrieval quality (i.e. the aerosol optical depth (AOD), the solar zenith angle, and the sky residual error, sphericity proportion and Ångström exponent), the deviations for SSA and g of these two algorithms were calculated at varying value intervals. Both the SSA and g deviations were found decrease with the AOD and the solar zenith angle, and increase with sky residual error. However, the deviations do not show clear sensitivity to the sphericity proportion and Ångström exponent. This indicated that the DVL algorithm is available for both large, non-spherical particles and spherical particles. The DVL results are suitable for the evaluation of aerosol direct radiative effects of different aerosol types.

Retrieval method of aerosol extinction coefficient profile by an integral lidar system and case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Huihui; Zhang, Hui; Liu, Junjian; Wang, Shenhao; Ma, Xiaomin; Zhang, Lianqing; Liu, Dong; Xie, Chenbo; Tao, Zongming

2018-02-01

Aerosol extinction coefficient profile is an essential parameter for atmospheric radiation model. But it is difficult to get the full aerosol extinction profile from the ground to the tropopause especially in near ground precisely using backscattering lidar. A combined measurement of side-scattering, backscattering and Raman-scattering lidar is proposed to retrieve the aerosol extinction coefficient profile from the surface to the tropopause which covered a dynamic range of 5 orders. The side-scattering technique solves the dead zone and the overlap problem caused by the traditional lidar in the near range. Using the Raman-scattering the aerosol lidar ratio (extinction to backscatter ratio) can be obtained. The cases studies in this paper show the proposed method is reasonable and feasible.

An Accurate Analytic Approximation for Light Scattering by Non-absorbing Spherical Aerosol Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, E. R.

2017-12-01

The scattering of light by particles in the atmosphere is a ubiquitous and important phenomenon, with applications to numerous fields of science and technology. The problem of scattering of electromagnetic radiation by a uniform spherical particle can be solved by the method of Mie and Debye as a series of terms depending on the size parameter, x=2πr/λ, and the complex index of refraction, m. However, this solution does not provide insight into the dependence of the scattering on the radius of the particle, the wavelength, or the index of refraction, or how the scattering varies with relative humidity. Van de Hulst demonstrated that the scattering efficiency (the scattering cross section divided by the geometric cross section) of a non-absorbing sphere, over a wide range of particle sizes of atmospheric importance, depends not on x and m separately, but on the quantity 2x(m-1); this is the basis for the anomalous diffraction approximation. Here an analytic approximation for the scattering efficiency of a non-absorbing spherical particle is presented in terms of this new quantity that is accurate over a wide range of particle sizes of atmospheric importance and which readily displays the dependences of the scattering efficiency on particle radius, index of refraction, and wavelength. For an aerosol for which the particle size distribution is parameterized as a gamma function, this approximation also yields analytical results for the scattering coefficient and for the Ångström exponent, with the dependences of scattering properties on wavelength and index of refraction clearly displayed. This approximation provides insight into the dependence of light scattering properties on factors such as relative humidity, readily enables conversion of scattering from one index of refraction to another, and demonstrates the conditions under which the aerosol index (the product of the aerosol optical depth and the Ångström exponent) is a useful proxy for the number of cloud

The relative importance of aerosol scattering and absorption in remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, R. S.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1985-01-01

Previous attempts to explain the effect of aerosols on satellite measurements of surface properties for the visible and near-infrared spectrum have emphasized the amount of aerosols without consideration of their absorption properties. In order to estimate the importance of absorption, the radiances of the sunlight scattered from models of the earth-atmosphere system are computed as functions of the aerosol optical thickness and absorption. The absorption effect is small where the surface reflectance is weak, but is important for strong reflectance. These effects on classification of surface features, measuring vegetation index, and measuring surface reflectance are presented.

Single scattering solution for radiative transfer through Rayleigh and aerosol atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Otterman, J.

1977-01-01

A solution is presented to the radiative transfer of the solar irradiation through a turbid atmosphere, based on the single-scattering approximation, i.e., an assumption that a photon that underwent scattering either leaves the top of the atmosphere or strikes the surface. The solution depends on a special idealization of the scattering phase function of the aerosols. The equations developed are subsequently applied to analyze quantitatively the enhancement of the surface irradiation and the enhancement of the scattered radiant emittance as seen from above the atmosphere, caused by the surface reflectance and atmospheric back scattering. An order of magnitude error analysis is presented.

El Chichon and 'mystery cloud' aerosols between 30 and 55 km Global observations from the SME visible spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clancy, R. T.

1986-09-01

Visible limb radiances measured by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) are used to obtain volume scattering ratios for aerosol loading in the 30-55 km altitude range of the stratosphere. Global maps of these ratios are presented for the period January 1982 to August 1984. Significant aerosol scattering from the 'mystery cloud' and El Chichon aerosol layers are found above 30 km. A timescale of approximately 2 months between the appearance of the aerosol at 30.5 km and at 37.5 km is consistent with vertical transport of aerosol or vapor by eddy diffusion above 30 km. An anticorrelation exists between aerosol scattering and stratospheric temperatures. Periods of lower stratospheric temperatures may account for the formation of aerosol between 40 and 55 km altitude.

El Chichon and 'mystery cloud' aerosols between 30 and 55 km Global observations from the SME visible spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancy, R. T.

1986-01-01

Visible limb radiances measured by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) are used to obtain volume scattering ratios for aerosol loading in the 30-55 km altitude range of the stratosphere. Global maps of these ratios are presented for the period January 1982 to August 1984. Significant aerosol scattering from the 'mystery cloud' and El Chichon aerosol layers are found above 30 km. A timescale of approximately 2 months between the appearance of the aerosol at 30.5 km and at 37.5 km is consistent with vertical transport of aerosol or vapor by eddy diffusion above 30 km. An anticorrelation exists between aerosol scattering and stratospheric temperatures. Periods of lower stratospheric temperatures may account for the formation of aerosol between 40 and 55 km altitude.

Aerosol scattering properties measured by an integrating nephelometer in Seoul, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shim, S.; Kim, J. H.; Cha, J.; Yum, S.; Yoon, Y.; Kim, J.

2008-12-01

The aerosol optical properties are known to have a significant impact on regional and global radiation budget and therefore climate change, and are a crucial factor to determine atmospheric visibility. As an effort to understand the influence of anthropogenic pollution aerosols, we analyzed the scattering coefficient (σsp) measured by an integrating nephelometer (TSI, model 3563) for the one year period of Feb. 2007 to Feb. 2008 in the highly populated city of Seoul, Korea and compared with total aerosol (CN) concentration and cloud condensations nuclei (CCN) concentration measured at the same location. Daily, weekly and seasonal statistics are calculated. Additionally, three Asian dust events that occurred during the measurement period were investigated in more detail. To reduce the humidity effect, only the cases when the instrument RH was less than 40% were selected for analysis. The daily mean σsp measured at 550 nm varied from 3.4±0.5 to 986.8±318.0 Mm-1. Seasonally σsp was the highest and the Ångström exponent calculated with the σsp for the three wavelengths (450, 550 and 700 nm) was the lowest in spring. Specifically, the Ångström exponent was significantly low during the Asian dust events. The mean diurnal variation of σsp showed different trends in weekdays and weekends; a primary and a secondary peak of σsp occurred at about 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, in weekdays, while only a single peak of σsp occurred at about 11 a.m. in weekends, 2 hours later than the time of the primary peak in weekdays. Despite different measurement principles, σsp tends to show similar time variation trend to the CN concentration but even more so to CCN concentrations. This may demonstrate that the aerosols that can act as CCN can also contribute to scattering. These aerosols can doubly contribute to the cooling effects directly by scattering the sunlight and indirectly by acting as CCN and making the cloud bright. Ammonium sulfate will be an excellent

Retrieving the aerosol lidar ratio profile by combining ground- and space-based elastic lidars.

PubMed

Feiyue, Mao; Wei, Gong; Yingying, Ma

2012-02-15

The aerosol lidar ratio is a key parameter for the retrieval of aerosol optical properties from elastic lidar, which changes largely for aerosols with different chemical and physical properties. We proposed a method for retrieving the aerosol lidar ratio profile by combining simultaneous ground- and space-based elastic lidars. The method was tested by a simulated case and a real case at 532 nm wavelength. The results demonstrated that our method is robust and can obtain accurate lidar ratio and extinction coefficient profiles. Our method can be useful for determining the local and global lidar ratio and validating space-based lidar datasets.

Infrared spectroscopy and Mie scattering of acetylene aerosols formed in a low temperature diffusion cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunder, T.; Miller, R. E.

1990-01-01

A method is described for forming and spectroscopically characterizing cryogenic aerosols formed in a low temperature gas cell. By adjusting the cell pressure, gas composition and flow rate, the size distribution of aerosol particles can be varied over a wide range. The combination of pressure and flow rate determine the residence time of the aerosols in the cell and hence the time available for the particles to grow. FTIR spectroscopy, over the range from 600/cm to 6000/cm, is used to characterize the aerosols. The particle size distribution can be varied so that, at one extreme, the spectra show only absorption features associated with the infrared active vibrational bands and, at the other, they display both absorption and Mie scattering. In the latter case, Mie scattering theory is used to obtain semiquantitative aerosol size distributions, which can be understood in terms of the interplay between nucleation and condensation. In the case of acetylene aerosols, the infrared spectra suggest that the particles exist in the high temperature cubic phase of the solid.

In-situ measurements of scattering phase functions of stratospheric aerosol particles in Alaska during July 1979

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grams, G. W.

1981-01-01

A laser nephelometer developed for airborne measurements of polar scattering diagrams of atmospheric aerosols was flown on the NCAR Sabreliner aircraft to obtain data on light-scattering parameters for stratospheric aerosol particles over Alaska during July 1979. Observed values of the angular variation of scattered-light intensity were compared with those calculated for different values of the asymmetry parameter g in the Henyey-Greenstein phase function. The observations indicate that, for the time and location of the experiments, the Henyey-Greenstein phase function could be used to calculate polar scattering diagrams to within experimental errors for an asymmetry parameter value of 0.49 plus or minus 0.07.

Exploitation of the UV Aerosol Index scattering angle dependence: Properties of Siberian smoke plumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penning de Vries, Marloes; Beirle, Steffen; Sihler, Holger; Wagner, Thomas

2017-04-01

The UV Aerosol Index (UVAI) is a simple measure of aerosols from satellite that is particularly sensitive to elevated layers of absorbing particles. It has been determined from a range of instruments including TOMS, GOME-2, and OMI, for almost four decades and will be continued in the upcoming Sentinel missions S5-precursor, S4, and S5. Despite its apparent simplicity, the interpretation of UVAI is not straightforward, as it depends on aerosol abundance, absorption, and altitude in a non-linear way. In addition, UVAI depends on the geometry of the measurement (viewing angle, solar zenith and relative azimuth angles), particularly if viewing angles exceed 45 degrees, as is the case for OMI and TROPOMI (on S5-precursor). The dependence on scattering angle complicates the interpretation and further processing (e.g., averaging) of UVAI. In certain favorable cases, however, independent information on aerosol altitude and absorption may become available. We present a detailed study of the scatter angle dependence using SCIATRAN radiative transfer calculations. The model results were compared to observations of an extensive Siberian smoke plume, of which parts reached 10-12 km altitude. Due to its large extent and the high latitude, OMI observed the complete plume in five consecutive orbits under a wide range of scattering angles. This allowed us to deduce aerosol characteristics (absorption and layer height) that were compared with collocated CALIOP lidar measurements.

In situ measurements of angular-dependent light scattering by aerosols over the contiguous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed Espinosa, W.; Vanderlei Martins, J.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Puthukkudy, Anin; Orozco, Daniel; Dolgos, Gergely

2018-03-01

This work provides a synopsis of aerosol phase function (F11) and polarized phase function (F12) measurements made by the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph) during the Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) and the Deep Convection Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaigns. In order to more easily explore this extensive dataset, an aerosol classification scheme is developed that identifies the different aerosol types measured during the deployments. This scheme makes use of ancillary data that include trace gases, chemical composition, aerodynamic particle size and geographic location, all independent of PI-Neph measurements. The PI-Neph measurements are then grouped according to their ancillary data classifications and the resulting scattering patterns are examined in detail. These results represent the first published airborne measurements of F11 and -F12/F11 for many common aerosol types. We then explore whether PI-Neph light-scattering measurements alone are sufficient to reconstruct the results of this ancillary data classification algorithm. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the dimensionality of the multi-angle PI-Neph scattering data and the individual measurements are examined as a function of ancillary data classification. Clear clustering is observed in the PCA score space, corresponding to the ancillary classification results, suggesting that, indeed, a strong link exists between the angular-scattering measurements and the aerosol type or composition. Two techniques are used to quantify the degree of clustering and it is found that in most cases the results of the ancillary data classification can be predicted from PI-Neph measurements alone with better than 85 % recall. This result both emphasizes the validity of the ancillary data classification as well as the PI-Neph's ability to distinguish common aerosol types without additional information.

Cloud and Aerosol 1064nm Lidar Ratio Retrievals from the CATS Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pauly, R.; Yorks, J. E.; McGill, M. J.; Hlavka, D. L.; Midzak, N.

2017-12-01

The extinction to backscatter ratio or lidar ratio is an essential value in order to derive the optical properties of cloud and aerosol layers from standard elastic backscatter lidar data. For these instruments, the lidar ratio can sometimes be determined from lidar data utilizing the transmission loss or "constrained" technique. The best situations for deploying this technique involve clearly defined layers with clear sky underneath for 1-3 km. In situations where the lidar ratio cannot be calculated, look-up tables exist for various cloud and aerosol types. There is a vast data record of derived lidar ratios for various cloud and aerosol types using 532nm from an array of instruments (i.e. HSRL, CALIOP, CPL, Aeronet, MPLNET). To date, because the 1064nm molecular signal is so small, lidar ratios at 1064nm have been mostly determined from 532nm lidar ratios using angstrom exponents, color ratios and ground based non-lidar measurements, as HSRL measurements at that wavelength do not exist. Due to the better signal quality at 1064nm compared to the 532nm signal, the CATS laser was thermally tuned to increase the 1064nm output energy. Therefore, the 1064nm channel is used in nearly all CATS layer data processing, making the accurate determination of 1064nm lidar ratio imperative. The CATS 1064nm signal allows for the unique capability to determine 1064nm lidar ratios better than previous instruments. The statistical and case study results of the CATS derived smoke and dust lidar ratios will be presented. Results have shown that the previously assumed 1064nm lidar ratios for dust need to be lowered. In addition to 1064nm lidar ratio results from the traditional transmission loss technique, results for aerosol layers above opaque water clouds from a method utilizing the depolarization ratio of the opaque cloud will be discussed. Incorporating this method into the CATS algorithms should increase the number of aerosol layers with constrained lidar ratio.

Scattering and absorption characteristics of aerosols at an urban megacity over IGB: Implications to radiative forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, A. K.; Bisht, D. S.; Singh, Sachchidanand; Kishore, N.; Soni, V. K.; Singh, Siddhartha; Tiwari, S.

2018-06-01

Aerosol scattering and absorption characteristics were investigated at an urban megacity Delhi in the western Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) during the period from October 2011 to September 2012 using different in-situ measurements. The scattering coefficient (σsp at 550 nm) varied between 71 and 3014 Mm-1 (mean 710 ± 615 Mm-1) during the entire study period, which was about ten times higher than the absorption coefficient (σabs at 550 nm 67 ± 40 Mm-1). Seasonally, σsp and σabs were substantially higher during the winter/post-monsoon periods, which also gave rise to single scattering albedo (SSA) by 5%. The magnitude of SSA (at 550 nm) varied between 0.81 and 0.94 (mean: 0.89 ± 0.05). Further, the magnitude of scattering Ångström exponent (SAE) and back-scattering Ångström exponent (BAE) showed a wide range from -1.20 to 1.57 and -1.13 to 0.87, respectively which suggests large variability in aerosol sizes and emission sources. Relatively higher aerosol backscatter fraction (b at 550 nm) during the monsoon (0.25 ± 0.10) suggests more inhomogeneous scattering, associated with the coarser dust particles. However, lower value of b during winter (0.13 ± 0.02) is associated with more isotropic scattering due to dominance of smaller size particles. This is further confirmed with the estimated asymmetry parameter (AP at 550 nm), which exhibits opposite trend with b. The aerosol optical parameters were used in a radiative transfer model to estimate aerosol radiative forcing. A mean radiative forcing of -61 ± 22 W m-2 (ranging from -111 to -40 W m-2) was observed at the surface and 42 ± 24 W m-2 (ranging from 18 to 87 W m-2) into the atmosphere, which can give rise to the mean atmospheric heating rate of 1.18 K day-1.

The relative importance of aerosol scattering and absorption in remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, R. S.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1983-01-01

The relative importance of aerosol optical thickness and absorption is illustrated through computing radiances for radiative transfer models. The radiance of sunlight reflected from models of the earth-atmosphere system is computed as a function of the aerosol optical thickness and its albedo of single scattering; it is noted that the albedo varies from 0.6 in urban environment to nearly 1 in areas with low graphitic carbon content. The calculations are applied to the example of satellite measurements of biomass. It is found that when surface classifications are made by means of clustering techniques the presence of gradients in the aerosol optical properties results in the dispersion of points in the plot correlating radiances viewed in two different directions. Finally, though such a remote sensing parameter as contrast is weakly affected by aerosol absorption, it is highly dependent on its optical thickness.

Adhesion of Mineral and Soot Aerosols can Strongly Affect their Scattering and Absorption Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishchenko, Michael I.; Dlugach, Jana M.

2012-01-01

We use the numerically exact superposition T-matrix method to compute the optical cross sections and the Stokes scattering matrix for polydisperse mineral aerosols (modeled as homogeneous spheres) covered with a large number of much smaller soot particles. These results are compared with the Lorenz-Mie results for a uniform external mixture of mineral and soot aerosols. We show that the effect of soot particles adhering to large mineral particles can be to change the extinction and scattering cross sections and the asymmetry parameter quite substantially. The effect on the phase function and degree of linear polarization can be equally significant.

Using the Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo and Angstrom Exponent from AERONET to Determine Aerosol Origins and Mixing States over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, D. M.; Holben, B. N.; Eck, T. F.; Sinyuk, A.; Slutsker, I.; Smirnov, A.; Schafer, J. S.; Dickerson, R. R.; Thompson, A. M.; Tripathi, S. N.; Singh, R. P.; Ghauri, B.

2012-12-01

Aerosol mixtures—whether dominated by dust, carbon, sulfates, nitrates, sea salt, or mixtures of them—complicate the retrieval of remotely sensed aerosol properties from satellites and possibly increase the uncertainty of the aerosol radiative impact on climate. Major aerosol source regions in South Asia include the Thar Desert as well as agricultural lands, Himalayan foothills, and large urban centers in and near the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). Over India and Pakistan, seasonal changes in meteorology, including the monsoon (June-September), significantly affect the transport, lifetime, and type of aerosols. Strong monsoonal winds can promote long range transport of dust resulting in mixtures of dust and carbonaceous aerosols, while more stagnant synoptic conditions (e.g., November-January) can prolong the occurrence of urban/industrial pollution, biomass burning smoke, or mixtures of them over the IGP. Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun/sky radiometer data are analyzed to show the aerosol optical depth (AOD) seasonality and aerosol dominant mixing states. The Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and extinction Angstrom exponent (EAE) relationship has been shown to provide sound clustering of dominant aerosol types using long term AERONET site data near known source regions [Giles et al., 2012]. In this study, aerosol type partitioning using the SSA (440 nm) and EAE (440-870 nm) relationship is further developed to quantify the occurrence of Dust, Mixed (e.g., dust and carbonaceous aerosols), Urban/Industrial (U/I) pollution, and Biomass Burning (BB) smoke. Based on EAE thresholds derived from the cluster analysis (for AOD440nm>0.4), preliminary results (2001-2010) for Kanpur, India, show the overall contributions of each dominant particle type (rounded to the nearest 10%): 10% for Dust (EAE≤0.25), 60% for Mixed (0.251.25). In the IGP, BB aerosols may have varying sizes (e.g., corresponding to 1.2

Scattering by randomly oriented ellipsoids: Application to aerosol and cloud problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asano, S.; Sato, M.; Hansen, J. E.

1979-01-01

A program was developed for computing the scattering and absorption by arbitrarily oriented and randomly oriented prolate and oblate spheroids. This permits examination of the effect of particle shape for cases ranging from needles through spheres to platelets. Applications of this capability to aerosol and cloud problems are discussed. Initial results suggest that the effect of nonspherical particle shape on transfer of radiation through aerosol layers and cirrus clouds, as required for many climate studies, can be readily accounted for by defining an appropriate effective spherical particle radius.

Coupling a versatile aerosol apparatus to a synchrotron: Vacuum ultraviolet light scattering, photoelectron imaging, and fragment free mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Jinian; Wilson, Kevin R.; Ahmed, Musahid; Leone, Stephen R.

2006-04-01

An aerosol apparatus has been coupled to the Chemical Dynamics Beamline of the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. This apparatus has multiple capabilities for aerosol studies, including vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light scattering, photoelectron imaging, and mass spectroscopy of aerosols. By utilizing an inlet system consisting of a 200μm orifice nozzle and aerodynamic lenses, aerosol particles of ˜50nm-˜1μm in diameter can be sampled directly from atmospheric pressure. The machine is versatile and can probe carbonaceous aerosols generated by a laboratory flame, nebulized solutions of biological molecules, hydrocarbon aerosol reaction products, and synthesized inorganic nanoparticles. The sensitivity of this apparatus is demonstrated by the detection of nanoparticles with VUV light scattering, photoelectron imaging, and charged particle detection. In addition to the detection of nanoparticles, the thermal vaporization of aerosols on a heater tip leads to the generation of intact gas phase molecules. This phenomenon coupled to threshold single photon ionization, accessible with tunable VUV light, allows for fragment-free mass spectrometry of complex molecules. The initial experiments with light scattering, photoelectron imaging, and aerosol mass spectrometry reported here serve as a demonstration of the design philosophy and multiple capabilities of the apparatus.

Light scattering by dust and anthropogenic aerosol at a remote site in the Negev desert, Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreae, Tracey W.; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Ichoku, Charles; Maenhaut, Willy; Cafmeyer, Jan; Karnieli, Arnon; Orlovsky, Leah

2002-01-01

We investigated aerosol optical properties, mass concentration, and chemical composition over a 2 year period at a remote site in the Negev desert, Israel (Sde Boker, 30° 51'N, 34° 47'E, 470 m above sea level). Light-scattering measurements were made at three wavelengths (450, 550, and 700 nm), using an integrating nephelometer, and included the separate determination of the backscatter fraction. Aerosol coarse and fine fractions were collected with stacked filter units; mass concentrations were determined by weighing, and the chemical composition by proton-induced X-ray emission and instrumental neutron activation analysis. The total scattering coefficient at 550 nm showed a median of 66.7 Mm-1(mean value 75.2 Mm-1, standard deviation 41.7 Mm-1) typical of moderately polluted continental air masses. Values of 1000 Mm-1and higher were encountered during severe dust storm events. During the study period, 31 such dust events were detected. In addition to high scattering levels, they were characterized by a sharp drop in the Ångström coefficient (i.e., the spectral dispersion of the light scattering) to values near zero. Mass-scattering efficiencies were obtained by a multivariate regression of the scattering coefficients on dust, sulfate, and residual components. An analysis of the contributions of these components to the total scattering observed showed that anthropogenic aerosol accounted for about 70% of scattering. The rest was dominated by the effect of the large dust events mentioned above and of small dust episodes typically occurring during midafternoon.

Aerosol Light Absorption and Scattering in Mexico City: Comparison With Las Vegas, NV, and Los Angeles, CA.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, G.; Arnott, W. P.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.; Campbell, D.; Fujita, E.

2007-12-01

Aerosol light scattering and absorption measurements were deployed in and near Mexico City in March 2006 as part of the Megacity Impacts on Regional and Global Environments (MIRAGE). The primary site in Mexico City was an urban site at Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (Mexican Oil Institute, denoted by IMP). Similar campaigns were held in Las Vegas, NV in January-February, 2003; and Los Angeles, CA at numerous sites during all seasons from 2003 through 2007. The IMP site gave in-situ characterization of the Mexico City plume under favorable wind conditions. The photoacoustic instrument (PAS) used at IMP operates at 532 nm, and conveniently allowed for characterization of gaseous absorption at this wavelength as well. Light scattering measurements are accomplished within the PAS by the reciprocal nephelometery method. In Mexico City the aerosol absorption coefficient typically varies between 20 and 180 Mm-1 during the course of the day and significant diurnal variation of the aerosol single scattering albedo was observed probably as a consequence of secondary aerosol formation. We will present the diurnal variation of the scattering and absorption as well as the single scattering albedo and fraction of absorption due to gases at the IMP site and compare with Las Vegas diurnal variation. Mexico City 'breaths' more during the course of the day than Las Vegas, Nevada in part because the latitude of Mexico City resulted in more direct solar radiation. Further insight on the meteorological connections and population dynamics will be discussed.

Determination of the single scattering albedo and direct radiative forcing of biomass burning aerosol with data from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Li

Biomass burning aerosols absorb and scatter solar radiation and therefore affect the energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system. The single scattering albedo (SSA), the ratio of the scattering coefficient to the extinction coefficient, is an important parameter to describe the optical properties of aerosols and to determine the effect of aerosols on the energy balance of the planet and climate. Aerosol effects on radiation also depend strongly on surface albedo. Large uncertainties remain in current estimates of radiative impacts of biomass burning aerosols, due largely to the lack of reliable measurements of aerosol and surface properties. In this work we investigate how satellite measurements can be used to estimate the direct radiative forcing of biomass burning aerosols. We developed a method using the critical reflectance technique to retrieve SSA from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observed reflectance at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). We evaluated MODIS retrieved SSAs with AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) retrievals and found good agreements within the published uncertainty of the AERONET retrievals. We then developed an algorithm, the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Albedo (MEVA), to improve the representations of spectral variations of vegetation surface albedo based on MODIS observations at the discrete 0.67, 0.86, 0.47, 0.55, 1.24, 1.64, and 2.12 mu-m channels. This algorithm is validated using laboratory measurements of the different vegetation types from the Amazon region, data from the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) spectral library, and data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital spectral library. We show that the MEVA method can improve the accuracy of flux and aerosol forcing calculations at the TOA compared to more traditional interpolated approaches. Lastly, we combine the MODIS retrieved biomass burning aerosol SSA and the surface albedo spectrum determined from the MEVA technique to calculate TOA flux and

Comparisons of spectral aerosol single scattering albedo in Seoul, South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mok, Jungbin; Krotkov, Nickolay A.; Torres, Omar; Jethva, Hiren; Li, Zhanqing; Kim, Jhoon; Koo, Ja-Ho; Go, Sujung; Irie, Hitoshi; Labow, Gordon; Eck, Thomas F.; Holben, Brent N.; Herman, Jay; Loughman, Robert P.; Spinei, Elena; Lee, Seoung Soo; Khatri, Pradeep; Campanelli, Monica

2018-04-01

Quantifying aerosol absorption at ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths is important for monitoring air pollution and aerosol amounts using current (e.g., Aura/OMI) and future (e.g., TROPOMI, TEMPO, GEMS, and Sentinel-4) satellite measurements. Measurements of column average atmospheric aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) are performed on the ground by the NASA AERONET in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths and in the UV-VIS-NIR by the SKYNET networks. Previous comparison studies have focused on VIS and NIR wavelengths due to the lack of co-incident measurements of aerosol and gaseous absorption properties in the UV. This study compares the SKYNET-retrieved SSA in the UV with the SSA derived from a combination of AERONET, MFRSR, and Pandora (AMP) retrievals in Seoul, South Korea, in spring and summer 2016. The results show that the spectrally invariant surface albedo assumed in the SKYNET SSA retrievals leads to underestimated SSA compared to AMP values at near UV wavelengths. Re-processed SKYNET inversions using spectrally varying surface albedo, consistent with the AERONET retrieval improve agreement with AMP SSA. The combined AMP inversions allow for separating aerosol and gaseous (NO2 and O3) absorption and provide aerosol retrievals from the shortest UVB (305 nm) through VIS to NIR wavelengths (870 nm).

Aerosol single scattering albedo estimated across China from a combination of ground and satellite measurements

Treesearch

Kwon Ho Lee; Zhanqing Li; Man Sing Wong; Jinyuan Xin; Wang Yuesi; Wei Min Hao; Fengsheng Zhao

2007-01-01

Single scattering albedo (SSA) governs the strength of aerosols in absorbing solar radiation, but few methods are available to directly measure this important quantity. There currently exist many ground-based measurements of spectral transmittance from which aerosol optical thickness (AOT) are retrieved under clear sky conditions. Reflected radiances at the top of the...

The colors of biomass burning aerosols in the atmosphere.

PubMed

Liu, Chao; Chung, Chul Eddy; Zhang, Feng; Yin, Yan

2016-06-16

Biomass burning aerosols mainly consist of black carbon (BC) and organic aerosols (OAs), and some of OAs are brown carbon (BrC). This study simulates the colors of BrC, BC and their mixture with scattering OAs in the ambient atmosphere by using a combination of light scattering simulations, a two-stream radiative transfer model and a RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color model. We find that both BCs and tar balls (a class of BrC) appear brownish at small particle sizes and blackish at large sizes. This is because the aerosol absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) largely controls the color and larger particles give smaller AAE values. At realistic size distributions, BCs look more blackish than tar balls, but still exhibit some brown color. However, when the absorptance of aerosol layer at green wavelength becomes larger than approximately 0.8, all biomass burning aerosols look blackish. The colors for mixture of purely scattering and absorptive carbonaceous aerosol layers in the atmosphere are also investigated. We suggest that the brownishness of biomass burning aerosols indicates the amount of BC/BrC as well as the ratio of BC to BrC.

Enhancements to the caliop aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms for level II version 4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omar, A.; Tackett, J.; Kim, M.-H.; Vaughan, M.; Kar, J.; Trepte, C.; Winker, D.

2018-04-01

Several enhancements have been implemented for the version 4 aerosol subtyping and lidar ratio selection algorithms of Cloud Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). Version 4 eliminates the confusion between smoke and clean marine aerosols seen in version 3 by modifications to the elevated layer flag definitions used to identify smoke aerosols over the ocean. To differentiate between mixtures of dust and smoke, and dust and marine aerosols, a new aerosol type will be added in the version 4 data products. In the marine boundary layer, moderately depolarizing aerosols are no longer modeled as mixtures of dust and smoke (polluted dust) but rather as mixtures of dust and seasalt (dusty marine). Some lidar ratios have been updated in the version 4 algorithms. In particular, the dust lidar ratios have been adjusted to reflect the latest measurements and model studies.

LASE measurements of aerosols and water vapor during TARFOX

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, Richard A.; Ismail, Syed; Browell, Edward V.; Brackett, Vincent G.; Kooi, Susan A.; Clayton, Marian B.; Melfi, Harvey; Whiteman, David N.; Schwenner, Geary; Evans, Keith D.;

Comparisons of Spectral Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo in Seoul, South Korea

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mok, Jungbin; Krotkov, Nickolay A.; Torres, Omar; Jethva, Hiren; Loughman, Robert P.; Spinei, Elena; Campanelli, Monica; Li, Zhanqing; Go, Sujung; Labow, Gordon;

Long term change in atmospheric dust absorption, dust scattering and black carbon aerosols scattering coefficient parameters over western Indian locations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satoliya, Anil Kumar; Vyas, B. M.; Shekhawat, M. S.

2018-05-01

The first time satellite space based measurement of atmospheric black carbon (BC) aerosols scattering coefficient at 550nm (BC SC at 550nm), dust aerosols scattering and dust aerosols extinction coefficient (DSC at 550nm and DEC at 550nm) parameters have been used to understand their long term trend of natural and anthropogenic aerosols behavior with its close association with ground based measured precipitation parameters such as Total Rain Fall (TRF), and Total Number of Rainy Days (TNRD) for the same period over western Indian regions concerned to the primary aerosols sources of natural activities. The basic objective of this study is an attempt to investigate the inter-correlation between dust and black carbon aerosols loading characteristics with a variation of rainfall pattern parameters as indirect aerosols induced effect i.e., aerosols-cloud interaction. The black carbon aerosols generated by diverse anthropogenic or human made activities are studied by choosing of measured atmospheric BC SC at 550nm parameter, whereas desert dust mineral aerosols primarily produced by varieties of natural activities pre-dominated of dust mineral desert aerosols mainly over Thar desert influenced area of hot climate and rural tropical site are investigated by selecting DSC at 550nm and DEC at 550nm of first semi-urban site i.e., Udaipur (UDP, 24.6°N, 73.35°E, 580m above surface level (asl)) situated in southern Rajasthan part as well as over other two Great Indian Thar desert locations i.e., Jaisalmer (JSM, 26.90°N, 69.90°E, 220m asl)) and Bikaner (BKN, 28.03°N, 73.30°E, 224m asl) located in the vicinity of the Thar desert region situated in Rajasthan state of the western Indian region. The source of the present study would be collection of longer period of monthly values of the above parameters of spanning 35 years i.e., 1980 to 2015. Such types of atmospheric aerosols-cloud monsoon interaction investigation is helpful in view of understanding their direct and

T-matrix Study of Scattering and Absorption of Light by Biomass Burning Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poudel, Samin

The uncertainty in the measurements of aerosol optical properties has made it difficult to quantify the global impact of aerosols on Earth's climate and limits our ability to predict future climate changes. Morphology, size, volume, shape, fuel type, burning conditions, aging, and changes in chemical composition due to atmospheric processing of soot play a significant part in determining the optical properties of aerosols. The T-matrix method has been successfully used to reproduce experimental results of optical properties of spherical and non-spherical particles. In this work we applied the T-matrix method to extract the refractive index of biomass burning soot (burning pine tree) by reproducing experimentally determined single scattering albedo (SSA), scattering and extinction cross section values obtained by burning pine and collecting aerosols in two different ways: (1) from an outdoor burn drum to burn pine and collect soot in distilled water using an impinger and re-aerosolized the soot after several days to measure extinction and scattering cross sections using cavity ring down spectroscopy and nephelometry and (2) from a tube furnace in the lab to burn pine and the soot was introduced into an indoor smog chamber and soot particles sampled directly into the cavity ring down system and the nephelometer to measure extinction and scattering cross sections. Filter samples were also collected from both types of burning and electron microscopy images were used to obtain morphology and size information to conduct T-Matrix calculations. The experimentally measured optical properties from the impinger samples were reproduced using a refractive index of 1.345 + i0.096 for 300 and 400nm particles, while the results from the tube furnace samples were reproduced using 1.88 + i0.024 for 200 nm particles and 1.47 + i0.047 for 300 nm particles. This suggests that the impinger samples do not represent fresh soot since they are more absorbing and have lower SSA values

Single-Particle Measurements of Midlatitude Black Carbon and Light-Scattering Aerosols from the Boundary Layer to the Lower Stratosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartz, J. P.; Gao, R. S.; Fahey, D. W.; Thomson, D. S.; Watts, L. A.; Wilson, J. C.; Reeves, J. M.; Darbeheshti, M.; Baumgardner, D. G.; Kok, G. L.;

Characterization of single particle aerosols by elastic light scattering at multiple wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lane, P. A.; Hart, M. B.; Jain, V.; Tucker, J. E.; Eversole, J. D.

2018-03-01

We describe a system to characterize individual aerosol particles using stable and repeatable measurement of elastic light scattering. The method employs a linear electrodynamic quadrupole (LEQ) particle trap. Charged particles, continuously injected by electrospray into this system, are confined to move vertically along the stability line in the center of the LEQ past a point where they are optically interrogated. Light scattered in the near forward direction was measured at three different wavelengths using time-division multiplexed collinear laser beams. We validated our method by comparing measured silica microsphere data for four selected diameters (0.7, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 μm) to a model of collected scattered light intensities based upon Lorenz-Mie scattering theory. Scattered light measurements at the different wavelengths are correlated, allowing us to distinguish and classify inhomogeneous particles.

Optical properties and CCN activity of aerosols in a high-altitude Himalayan environment: Results from RAWEX-GVAX: CCN activity of aerosols over Himalayas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gogoi, Mukunda M.; Babu, S. Suresh; Jayachandran, V.

2015-03-27

The seasonality and mutual dependence of aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity under varying meteorological conditions at the high-altitude Nainital site (~2 km) in the Indo-Gangetic Plains were examined using nearly year-round measurements (June 2011 to March 2012) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) mobile facility as part of the RAWEX-GVAX experiment of the Indian Space Research Organization and the U.S. Department of Energy. The results from collocated measurements provided enhanced aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients, CCN concentrations and total condensation nuclei (CN) concentrations during the dry autumn and winter months. The CCN concentration (at a supersaturationmore » of 0.46) was higher during periods of high aerosol absorption (single-scattering albedo (SSA) < 0.80) than during periods of high aerosol scattering (SSA > 0.85), indicating that the aerosol composition seasonally changes and influences the CCN activity. The monthly mean CCN activation ratio (at a supersaturation of 0.46) was highest (> 0.7) in late autumn (November); this finding is attributed to the contribution of biomass-burning aerosols to CCN formation at high supersaturation conditions.« less

The CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS instrument - Part 2: Raman scattering probability measurements and retrieval of aerosol optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortega, Ivan; Coburn, Sean; Berg, Larry K.; Lantz, Kathy; Michalsky, Joseph; Ferrare, Richard A.; Hair, Johnathan W.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Volkamer, Rainer

2016-08-01

The multiannual global mean of aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD550) over land is ˜ 0.19, and that over oceans is ˜ 0.13. About 45 % of the Earth surface shows AOD550 smaller than 0.1. There is a need for measurement techniques that are optimized to measure aerosol optical properties under low AOD conditions. We present an inherently calibrated retrieval (i.e., no need for radiance calibration) to simultaneously measure AOD and the aerosol phase function parameter, g, based on measurements of azimuth distributions of the Raman scattering probability (RSP), the near-absolute rotational Raman scattering (RRS) intensity. We employ radiative transfer model simulations to show that for solar azimuth RSP measurements at solar elevation and solar zenith angle (SZA) smaller than 80°, RSP is insensitive to the vertical distribution of aerosols and maximally sensitive to changes in AOD and g under near-molecular scattering conditions. The University of Colorado two-dimensional Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS) instrument was deployed as part of the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) at Cape Cod, MA, during the summer of 2012 to measure direct sun spectra and RSP from scattered light spectra at solar relative azimuth angles (SRAAs) between 5 and 170°. During two case study days with (1) high aerosol load (17 July, 0.3 < AOD430 < 0.6) and (2) near-molecular scattering conditions (22 July, AOD430 < 0.13) we compare RSP-based retrievals of AOD430 and g with data from a co-located CIMEL sun photometer, Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), and an airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2). The average difference (relative to DOAS) for AOD430 is +0.012 ± 0.023 (CIMEL), -0.012 ± 0.024 (MFRSR), -0.011 ± 0.014 (HSRL-2), and +0.023 ± 0.013 (CIMELAOD - MFRSRAOD) and yields the following expressions for correlations between different instruments

Raman Lidar Measurements of Pinatubo Aerosols over Southeastern Kansas During November-december 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D. N.; Evans, K. D.

1992-01-01

The eruptions of the Philippine volcano Pinatubo during June 1991 produced large amounts of stratospheric aerosols that could significantly affect earth's climate as well as trigger stratospheric ozone depletion through heterogeneous chemical reactions. Information regarding the physical and optical properties of these aerosols is required to quantify those effects. By measuring both the elastically backscattered signal and the inelastic signal produced by Raman scattering from nitrogen molecules, Raman lidar can provide some of this information. In this presentation we discuss Raman lidar measurements of the scattering ratio, backscattering, extinction, extinction/backscattering ratio, and optical thickness of the Pinatubo aerosols over southeastern Kansas made on 10 nights during November and December, 1991. The Raman lidar developed at GSFC is a trailer-based system which uses an XeF excimer laser to transmit light at 351 nm. The light backscattered by molecules and aerosols at this wavelength is detected as well as Raman scattered light from water vapor, nitrogen, and oxygen molecules. Since background skylights interfere with the detection of the Raman signals the data discussed in this paper were acquired only at night.

Exploring the applicability and limitations of selected optical scattering instruments for PM mass measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jie; Marto, Joseph P.; Schwab, James J.

2018-05-01

Two optical scattering instruments for particle mass measurement, the Thermo Personal Data RAM (PDR-1500) and the TSI Environmental DustTrak DRX (Model 8543) were evaluated by (1) using poly- and mono-disperse test aerosol in the laboratory, and (2) sampling ambient aerosol. The responses of these optical scattering instruments to different particle characteristics (size, composition, concentration) were compared with responses from reference instruments. A Mie scattering calculation was used to explain the dependence of the optical instruments' response to aerosol size and composition. Concurrently, the detection efficiency of one Alphasense Optical Particle Counter (OPC-N2) was evaluated in the laboratory as well. The relationship between aerosol mass concentration and optical scattering was determined to be strongly dependent on aerosol size and to a lesser extent on aerosol composition (as reflected in the refractive indices of the materials tested) based on ambient measurements. This confirms that there is no simple way to use optical scattering instruments over a wide range of conditions without adjustments based on knowledge of aerosol size and composition. In particular, a test period measuring ambient aerosol with optical scattering instruments and a mass based method (an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer) determined that roughly two thirds of the variance (R2 = 0.64) of the optical to mass signal ratio is explained by the aerosol mass median diameter alone. These observations and calculations help evaluate the applicability and limitations of these optical scattering instruments, and provide guidance to designing suitable applications for each instrument by considering aerosol sources and aerosol size.

Development the EarthCARE aerosol classification scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wandinger, Ulla; Baars, Holger; Hünerbein, Anja; Donovan, Dave; van Zadelhoff, Gerd-Jan; Fischer, Jürgen; von Bismarck, Jonas; Eisinger, Michael; Lajas, Dulce; Wehr, Tobias

2015-04-01

The Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission is a joint ESA/JAXA mission planned to be launched in 2018. The multi-sensor platform carries a cloud-profiling radar (CPR), a high-spectral-resolution cloud/aerosol lidar (ATLID), a cloud/aerosol multi-spectral imager (MSI), and a three-view broad-band radiometer (BBR). Three out of the four instruments (ATLID, MSI, and BBR) will be able to sense the global aerosol distribution and contribute to the overarching EarthCARE goals of sensor synergy and radiation closure with respect to aerosols. The high-spectral-resolution lidar ATLID obtains profiles of particle extinction and backscatter coefficients, lidar ratio, and linear depolarization ratio as well as the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 355 nm. MSI provides AOT at 670 nm (over land and ocean) and 865 nm (over ocean). Next to these primary observables the aerosol type is one of the required products to be derived from both lidar stand-alone and ATLID-MSI synergistic retrievals. ATLID measurements of the aerosol intensive properties (lidar ratio, depolarization ratio) and ATLID-MSI observations of the spectral AOT will provide the basic input for aerosol-type determination. Aerosol typing is needed for the quantification of anthropogenic versus natural aerosol loadings of the atmosphere, the investigation of aerosol-cloud interaction, assimilation purposes, and the validation of atmospheric transport models which carry components like dust, sea salt, smoke and pollution. Furthermore, aerosol classification is a prerequisite for the estimation of direct aerosol radiative forcing and radiative closure studies. With an appropriate underlying microphysical particle description, the categorization of aerosol observations into predefined aerosol types allows us to infer information needed for the calculation of shortwave radiative effects, such as mean particle size, single-scattering albedo, and spectral conversion factors. In order to ensure

The invariant statistical rule of aerosol scattering pulse signal modulated by random noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zhen-gang; Bian, Bao-Min; Yang, Juan; Peng, Gang; Li, Zhen-hua

2010-11-01

A model of the random background noise acting on particle signals is established to study the impact of the background noise of the photoelectric sensor in the laser airborne particle counter on the statistical character of the aerosol scattering pulse signals. The results show that the noises broaden the statistical distribution of the particle's measurement. Further numerical research shows that the output of the signal amplitude still has the same distribution when the airborne particle with the lognormal distribution was modulated by random noise which has lognormal distribution. Namely it follows the statistics law of invariance. Based on this model, the background noise of photoelectric sensor and the counting distributions of random signal for aerosol's scattering pulse are obtained and analyzed by using a high-speed data acquisition card PCI-9812. It is found that the experiment results and simulation results are well consistent.

The CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS instrument – Part 2: Raman scattering probability measurements and retrieval of aerosol optical properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ortega, Ivan; Coburn, Sean; Berg, Larry K.

The multiannual global mean of aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD 550) over land is ~0.19, and that over oceans is ~0.13. About 45 % of the Earth surface shows AOD 550 smaller than 0.1. There is a need for measurement techniques that are optimized to measure aerosol optical properties under low AOD conditions. We present an inherently calibrated retrieval (i.e., no need for radiance calibration) to simultaneously measure AOD and the aerosol phase function parameter, g, based on measurements of azimuth distributions of the Raman scattering probability (RSP), the near-absolute rotational Raman scattering (RRS) intensity. We employ radiativemore » transfer model simulations to show that for solar azimuth RSP measurements at solar elevation and solar zenith angle (SZA) smaller than 80°, RSP is insensitive to the vertical distribution of aerosols and maximally sensitive to changes in AOD and g under near-molecular scattering conditions. The University of Colorado two-dimensional Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS) instrument was deployed as part of the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) at Cape Cod, MA, during the summer of 2012 to measure direct sun spectra and RSP from scattered light spectra at solar relative azimuth angles (SRAAs) between 5 and 170°. During two case study days with (1) high aerosol load (17 July, 0.3 < AOD 430 < 0.6) and (2) near-molecular scattering conditions (22 July, AOD 430 < 0.13) we compare RSP-based retrievals of AOD 430 and g with data from a co-located CIMEL sun photometer, Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), and an airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2). The average difference (relative to DOAS) for AOD 430 is +0.012 ± 0.023 (CIMEL), -0.012 ± 0.024 (MFRSR), -0.011 ± 0.014 (HSRL-2), and +0.023 ± 0.013 (CIMEL AOD - MFRSR AOD) and yields the following expressions for correlations between different instruments: DOAS AOD = - (0.019 ± 0

Uncertainties of aerosol retrieval from neglecting non-sphericity of dust aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chi; Xue, Yong; Yang, Leiku; Guang, Jie

2013-04-01

by straightforwardly utilizing Mie theory in dust aerosol retrieval. As expected we find that the uncertainties mainly result from the obvious difference of phase functions (Pspheric and Pspheroid). Errors may be positive or negative, depending on the specific geometry. In scattering angle (θ) regions where Psphericis greater (30°~85° & 145°~180°), we generally get positive Δ?TOA and negative Δ?, and vice versa (85°~145°). For low aerosol loading (? ~0.25) and black surface, |Δ?TOA| could be greater than 0.004 and 0.012 around θ ~120° and θ ~170°, with |Δ?| of ~0.04 and ~0.12 respectively. In most back scattering cases (θ >100°), the magnitude of Δ? is about ten times that of Δ?TOA, while this ratio (|Δ?|/|Δ?TOA|) significantly reduces to as low as ~0.5 for forward scattering, and can reach ~20 at θ ~145°. Moreover, this errors and |Δ?|/|Δ?TOA| can increase more than ten times as aerosol loading gets higher and surface gets brighter. Therefore we conclude that the neglect of non-sphericity introduces substantial errors on radiative transfer simulation and AOD retrieval. As a result of this study, a representative aspheric aerosol model other than Mie calculation is recommended for inversion algorithms related with dust-like non-spherical aerosols. References Dubovik, O., Holben, B. N., Lapyonok, T., Sinyuk, A., Mishchenko, M. I., Yang, P., and Slutsker, I. (2002). Non-spherical aerosol retrieval method employing light scattering by spheroids. Geophyscal Research Letters, 29(10), 1415, doi:10.1029/2001GL014506. Dubovik, O., Sinyuk, A., Lapyonok, T., Holben, B. N., Mishchenko, M., Yang, P., Eck, T. F., Volten, H., Muñoz, O., Veihelmann, B., van der Zande, W. J., Leon, J.-F., Sorokin, M., and Slutsker, I. (2006). Application of spheroid models to account for aerosol particle nonsphericity in remote sensing of desert dust. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, D11208, doi:10.1029/2005JD006619. Mishchenko, M. I., Lacis, A. A., Carlson, B. E., and

Black carbon aerosol mixing state, organic aerosols and aerosol optical properties over the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMeeking, G. R.; Morgan, W. T.; Flynn, M.; Highwood, E. J.; Turnbull, K.; Haywood, J.; Coe, H.

2011-05-01

Black carbon (BC) aerosols absorb sunlight thereby leading to a positive radiative forcing and a warming of climate and can also impact human health through their impact on the respiratory system. The state of mixing of BC with other aerosol species, particularly the degree of internal/external mixing, has been highlighted as a major uncertainty in assessing its radiative forcing and hence its climate impact, but few in situ observations of mixing state exist. We present airborne single particle soot photometer (SP2) measurements of refractory BC (rBC) mass concentrations and mixing state coupled with aerosol composition and optical properties measured in urban plumes and regional pollution over the UK. All data were obtained using instrumentation flown on the UK's BAe-146-301 large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) operated by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM). We measured sub-micron aerosol composition using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and used positive matrix factorization to separate hydrocarbon-like (HOA) and oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA). We found a higher number fraction of thickly coated rBC particles in air masses with large OOA relative to HOA, higher ozone-to-nitrogen oxides (NOx) ratios and large concentrations of total sub-micron aerosol mass relative to rBC mass concentrations. The more ozone- and OOA-rich air masses were associated with transport from continental Europe, while plumes from UK cities had higher HOA and NOx and fewer thickly coated rBC particles. We did not observe any significant change in the rBC mass absorption efficiency calculated from rBC mass and light absorption coefficients measured by a particle soot absorption photometer despite observing significant changes in aerosol composition and rBC mixing state. The contributions of light scattering and absorption to total extinction (quantified by the single scattering albedo; SSA) did change for different air masses, with lower SSA observed in

Decomposition of Atmospheric Aerosol Phase Function by Particle Size and Morphology via Single Particle Scattering Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aptowicz, K. B.; Pan, Y.; Martin, S.; Fernandez, E.; Chang, R.; Pinnick, R. G.

2013-12-01

We report upon an experimental approach that provides insight into how particle size and shape affect the scattering phase function of atmospheric aerosol particles. Central to our approach is the design of an apparatus that measures the forward and backward scattering hemispheres (scattering patterns) of individual atmospheric aerosol particles in the coarse mode range. The size and shape of each particle is discerned from the corresponding scattering pattern. In particular, autocorrelation analysis is used to differentiate between spherical and non-spherical particles, the calculated asphericity factor is used to characterize the morphology of non-spherical particles, and the integrated irradiance is used for particle sizing. We found the fraction of spherical particles decays exponentially with particle size, decreasing from 11% for particles on the order of 1 micrometer to less than 1% for particles over 5 micrometer. The average phase functions of subpopulations of particles, grouped by size and morphology, are determined by averaging their corresponding scattering patterns. The phase functions of spherical and non-spherical atmospheric particles are shown to diverge with increasing size. In addition, the phase function of non-spherical particles is found to vary little as a function of the asphericity factor.

Airborne characterization of aerosols over the contiguous United States during the SEAC4RS and DC3 campaigns: an in situ light scattering perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Espinosa, R.; Remer, L.; Puthukkudy, A.; Orozco, D.; Dubovik, O.; Martins, J. V.

2017-12-01

Models used to estimate climate change and interpret remote sensing observations must make assumptions regarding aerosol radiation interactions. This presentation will summarize aerosol light scattering measurements made by the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph) during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) and Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) experiments. The data presented includes direct measurements of phase function (P11) and polarized phase function (-P12/P11) as well as retrievals of size distribution, sphericity and complex refractive index made using the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties (GRASP). An aerosol classification scheme is developed to identify different aerosol types measured during the deployments, making use of ancillary data that includes gas tracers, chemical composition, aerodynamic particle size and geographic location. Principal component analysis (PCA) is then used to reduce the dimensionality of the multi-angle PI-Neph scattering data and a strong link between the PCA scores and the ancillary classification results is observed. The scattering differences that reliable distinguish the different aerosol types are found to be quite subtle and often rely on the relationships between many scattering angles simultaneously. This fact emphasis the value of multi-angle scattering measurements, as well as principal component analysis's ability to reveal the underlying patterns in these datasets. The parameters retrieved from the DC3 scattering data suggest the presence of a significant amount of dust in aerosols influenced by convective systems, with the quantity of dust correlating strongly with sampling location and the underlying surface features. All fine mode dominated aerosol types from SEAC4RS had remarkably similar retrieved properties, except for the real refractive index of the biomass burning cases, which was consistently

Diurnal Cycles of Aerosol Optical Properties at Pico Tres Padres, Mexico City: Evidences for Changes in Particle Morphology and Secondary Aerosol Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzoleni, C.; Dubey, M.; Chakrabarty, R.; Moosmuller, H.; Onasch, T.; Zavala, M.; Herndon, S.; Kolb, C.

2007-12-01

Aerosol optical properties affect planetary radiative balance and depend on chemical composition, size distribution, and morphology. During the MILAGRO field campaign, we measured aerosol absorption and scattering in Mexico City using the Los Alamos aerosol photoacoustic (LAPA) instrument operating at 781 nm. The LAPA was mounted on-board the Aerodyne Research Inc. mobile laboratory, which hosted a variety of gaseous and aerosol instruments. During the campaign, the laboratory was moved to different sites, capturing spatial and temporal variability. Additionally, we collected ambient aerosols on Nuclepore filters for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. SEM images of selected filters were taken to study particle morphology. Between March 7th and 19th air was sampled at the top of Pico Tres Padres, a mountain on the north side of Mexico City. Aerosol absorption and scattering followed diurnal patterns related to boundary layer height and solar insulation. We report an analysis of aerosol absorption, scattering, and morphology for three days (9th, 11th and 12th of March 2006). The single scattering albedo (SSA, ratio of scattering to total extinction) showed a drop in the tens-of-minutes-to-hour time frame after the boundary layer grew above the sampling site. Later in the day the SSA rose steadily reaching a maximum in the afternoon. The SEM images showed a variety of aerosol shapes including fractal-like aggregates, spherical particles, and other shapes. The absorption correlated with the CO2 signal and qualitatively with the fraction of fractal-like particles to the total particle count. In the afternoon the SSA qualitatively correlated with a relative increase in spherical particles and total particle count. These observed changes in optical properties and morphology can be explained by the dominant contribution of freshly emitted particles in the morning and by secondary particle formation in the afternoon. SSA hourly averaged values ranged from ~0.63 in

Aerosol properties computed from aircraft-based observations during the ACE- Asia campaign. 2; A case study of lidar ratio closure and aerosol radiative effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuzmanoski, Maja; Box, M. A.; Schmid, B.; Box, G. P.; Wang, J.; Russell, P. B.; Bates, D.; Jonsson, H. H.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Flagan, R. C.

2005-01-01

For a vertical profile with three distinct layers (marine boundary, pollution and dust), observed during the ACE-Asia campaign, we carried out a comparison between the modeled lidar ratio vertical profile and that obtained from collocated airborne NASA AATS-14 sunphotometer and shipborne Micro-Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements. Vertically resolved lidar ratio was calculated from two size distribution vertical profiles - one obtained by inversion of sunphotometer-derived extinction spectra, and one measured in-situ - combined with the same refractive index model based on aerosol chemical composition. The aerosol model implies single scattering albedos of 0.78 - 0.81 and 0.93 - 0.96 at 0.523 microns (the wavelength of the lidar measurements), in the pollution and dust layers, respectively. The lidar ratios calculated from the two size distribution profiles have close values in the dust layer; they are however, significantly lower than the lidar ratios derived from combined lidar and sunphotometer measurements, most probably due to the use of a simple nonspherical model with a single particle shape in our calculations. In the pollution layer, the two size distribution profiles yield generally different lidar ratios. The retrieved size distributions yield a lidar ratio which is in better agreement with that derived from lidar/sunphotometer measurements in this layer, with still large differences at certain altitudes (the largest relative difference was 46%). We explain these differences by non-uniqueness of the result of the size distribution retrieval and lack of information on vertical variability of particle refractive index. Radiative transfer calculations for this profile showed significant atmospheric radiative forcing, which occurred mainly in the pollution layer. We demonstrate that if the extinction profile is known then information on the vertical structure of absorption and asymmetry parameter is not significant for estimating forcing at TOA and the surface

Black carbon aerosol mixing state, organic aerosols and aerosol optical properties over the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMeeking, G. R.; Morgan, W. T.; Flynn, M.; Highwood, E. J.; Turnbull, K.; Haywood, J.; Coe, H.

2011-09-01

Black carbon (BC) aerosols absorb sunlight thereby leading to a positive radiative forcing and a warming of climate and can also impact human health through their impact on the respiratory system. The state of mixing of BC with other aerosol species, particularly the degree of internal/external mixing, has been highlighted as a major uncertainty in assessing its radiative forcing and hence its climate impact, but few in situ observations of mixing state exist. We present airborne single particle soot photometer (SP2) measurements of refractory BC (rBC) mass concentrations and mixing state coupled with aerosol composition and optical properties measured in urban plumes and regional pollution over the United Kingdom. All data were obtained using instrumentation flown on the UK's BAe-146-301 large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) operated by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM). We measured sub-micron aerosol composition using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and used positive matrix factorization to separate hydrocarbon-like (HOA) and oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA). We found a higher number fraction of thickly coated rBC particles in air masses with large OOA relative to HOA, higher ozone-to-nitrogen oxides (NOx) ratios and large concentrations of total sub-micron aerosol mass relative to rBC mass concentrations. The more ozone- and OOA-rich air masses were associated with transport from continental Europe, while plumes from UK cities had higher HOA and NOx and fewer thickly coated rBC particles. We did not observe any significant change in the rBC mass absorption efficiency calculated from rBC mass and light absorption coefficients measured by a particle soot absorption photometer despite observing significant changes in aerosol composition and rBC mixing state. The contributions of light scattering and absorption to total extinction (quantified by the single scattering albedo; SSA) did change for different air masses, with lower SSA

Raman Lidar Measurements of Aerosol Extinction and Backscattering. Report 1; Methods and Comparisons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D. N.; Evans, K. D.; Leifer, R.

1998-01-01

This paper examines the aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles measured at night by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scanning Raman Lidar (SRL) during the remote cloud sensing (RCS) intensive operations period (IOP) at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) southern Great Plains (SGP) site in April 1994. These lidar data are used to derive aerosol profiles for altitudes between 0.0 1 5 and 5 km. Since this lidar detects Raman scattering from nitrogen and oxygen molecules as well as the elastic scattering from molecules and aerosols, it measures both aerosol backscattering and extinction simultaneously. The aerosol extinction/backscattering ratio varied between approximately 30 sr and 75 sr at 351 nm. Aerosol optical thicknesses derived by integrating the lidar profiles of aerosol extinction measured at night between 0. I and 5 km are found to be about 10-40% lower than those measured by a Sun photometer during the day. This difference is attributed to the contribution by stratospheric aerosols not included in the lidar estimates as well as to diurnal differences in aerosol properties and concentrations. Aerosol profiles close to the surface were acquired by pointing the lidar nearly horizontally. Measurements of aerosol scattering from a tower-mounted nephelometer are found to be 40% lower than lidar measurements of aerosol extinction over a wide range of relative humidities even after accounting for the difference in wavelengths. The reasons for this difference are not clear but may be due to the inability of the nephelometer to accurately measure scattering by large particles.

Estimating scatter in cone beam CT with striped ratio grids: A preliminary investigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, Scott, E-mail: sshsieh@stanford.edu

2016-09-15

Purpose: To propose a new method for estimating scatter in x-ray imaging. Conventional antiscatter grids reject scatter at an efficiency that is constant or slowly varying over the surface of the grid. A striped ratio antiscatter grid, composed of stripes that alternate between high and low grid ratio, could be used instead. Such a striped ratio grid would reduce scatter-to-primary ratio as a conventional grid would, but more importantly, the signal discontinuities at the boundaries of stripes can be used to estimate local scatter content. Methods: Signal discontinuities provide information on scatter, but are contaminated by variation in primary radiation.more » A nonlinear image processing algorithm is used to estimate the scatter content in the presence of primary variation. We emulated a striped ratio grid by imaging phantoms with two sequential CT scans, one with and one without a conventional grid. These two scans are processed together to mimic a striped ratio grid. This represents a best case limit of the striped ratio grid, in that the extent of grid ratio modulation is very high and the scatter contrast is maximized. Results: In a uniform cylinder, the striped ratio grid virtually eliminates cupping. Artifacts from scatter are improved in an anthropomorphic phantom. Some banding artifacts are induced by the striped ratio grid. Conclusions: Striped ratio grids could be a simple and effective evolution of conventional antiscatter grids. Construction and validation of a physical prototype remains an important future step.« less

Intercomparison and closure calculations using measurements of aerosol species and optical properties during the Yosemite Aerosol Characterization Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malm, William C.; Day, Derek E.; Carrico, Christian; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Collett, Jeffrey L.; McMeeking, Gavin; Lee, Taehyoung; Carrillo, Jacqueline; Schichtel, Bret

2005-07-01

Physical and optical properties of inorganic aerosols have been extensively studied, but less is known about carbonaceous aerosols, especially as they relate to the non-urban settings such as our nation's national parks and wilderness areas. Therefore an aerosol characterization study was conceived and implemented at one national park that is highly impacted by carbonaceous aerosols, Yosemite. The primary objective of the study was to characterize the physical, chemical, and optical properties of a carbon-dominated aerosol, including the ratio of total organic matter weight to organic carbon, organic mass scattering efficiencies, and the hygroscopic characteristics of a carbon-laden ambient aerosol, while a secondary objective was to evaluate a variety of semi-continuous monitoring systems. Inorganic ions were characterized using 24-hour samples that were collected using the URG and Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) monitoring systems, the micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) cascade impactor, as well as the semi-continuous particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) technology. Likewise, carbonaceous material was collected over 24-hour periods using IMPROVE technology along with the thermal optical reflectance (TOR) analysis, while semi-continuous total carbon concentrations were measured using the Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P) instrument. Dry aerosol number size distributions were measured using a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) and optical particle counter, scattering coefficients at near-ambient conditions were measured with nephelometers fitted with PM10 and PM2.5 inlets, and "dry" PM2.5 scattering was measured after passing ambient air through Perma Pure Nafion® dryers. In general, the 24-hour "bulk" measurements of various aerosol species compared more favorably with each other than with the semi-continuous data. Semi-continuous sulfate measurements correlated well with the 24-hour measurements, but were biased low by

Aerosol characteristics inversion based on the improved lidar ratio profile with the ground-based rotational Raman-Mie lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Hongzhu; Zhang, Yinchao; Chen, Siying; Chen, He; Guo, Pan

2018-06-01

An iterative method, based on a derived inverse relationship between atmospheric backscatter coefficient and aerosol lidar ratio, is proposed to invert the lidar ratio profile and aerosol extinction coefficient. The feasibility of this method is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Simulation results show the inversion accuracy of aerosol optical properties for iterative method can be improved in the near-surface aerosol layer and the optical thick layer. Experimentally, as a result of the reduced insufficiency error and incoherence error, the aerosol optical properties with higher accuracy can be obtained in the near-surface region and the region of numerical derivative distortion. In addition, the particle component can be distinguished roughly based on this improved lidar ratio profile.

Sizing aerosolized fractal nanoparticle aggregates through Bayesian analysis of wide-angle light scattering (WALS) data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Franz J. T.; Will, Stefan; Daun, Kyle J.

2016-11-01

Inferring the size distribution of aerosolized fractal aggregates from the angular distribution of elastically scattered light is a mathematically ill-posed problem. This paper presents a procedure for analyzing Wide-Angle Light Scattering (WALS) data using Bayesian inference. The outcome is probability densities for the recovered size distribution and aggregate morphology parameters. This technique is applied to both synthetic data and experimental data collected on soot-laden aerosols, using a measurement equation derived from Rayleigh-Debye-Gans fractal aggregate (RDG-FA) theory. In the case of experimental data, the recovered aggregate size distribution parameters are generally consistent with TEM-derived values, but the accuracy is impaired by the well-known limited accuracy of RDG-FA theory. Finally, we show how this bias could potentially be avoided using the approximation error technique.

Aerosol Light Absorption and Scattering Assessments and the Impact of City Size on Air Pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, Guadalupe

The general problem of urban pollution and its relation to the city population is examined in this dissertation. A simple model suggests that pollutant concentrations should scale approximately with the square root of city population. This model and its experimental evaluation presented here serve as important guidelines for urban planning and attainment of air quality standards including the limits that air pollution places on city population. The model was evaluated using measurements of air pollution. Optical properties of aerosol pollutants such as light absorption and scattering plus chemical species mass concentrations were measured with a photoacoustic spectrometer, a reciprocal nephelometer, and an aerosol mass spectrometer in Mexico City in the context of the multinational project "Megacity Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations (MILAGRO)" in March 2006. Aerosol light absorption and scattering measurements were also obtained for Reno and Las Vegas, NV USA in December 2008-March 2009 and January-February 2003, respectively. In all three cities, the morning scattering peak occurs a few hours later than the absorption peak due to the formation of secondary photochemically produced aerosols. In particular, for Mexico City we determined the fraction of photochemically generated secondary aerosols to be about 75% of total aerosol mass concentration at its peak near midday. The simple 2-d box model suggests that commonly emitted primary air pollutant (e.g., black carbon) mass concentrations scale approximately as the square root of the urban population. This argument extends to the absorption coefficient, as it is approximately proportional to the black carbon mass concentration. Since urban secondary pollutants form through photochemical reactions involving primary precursors, in linear approximation their mass concentration also should scale with the square root of population. Therefore, the scattering coefficient, a proxy for particulate matter

Scattering and Absorption of E&M radiation by small particles-applications to study impact of biomass aerosols on climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bililign, Solomon; Singh, Sujeeta; Fiddler, Marc; Smith, Damon

2015-03-01

The phenomena of scattering, absorption, and emission of light and other electromagnetic radiation by small particles are central to many science and engineering disciplines. Absorption of solar radiation by black carbon aerosols has a significant impact on the atmospheric energy distribution and hydrologic processes. By intercepting incoming solar radiation before it reaches the surface, aerosols heat the atmosphere and, in turn, cool the surface. The magnitude of the atmospheric forcing induced by anthropogenic absorbing aerosols, mainly black carbon (BC) emitted from biomass burning and combustion processes has been suggested to be comparable to the atmospheric forcing by all greenhouse gases (GHGs). Despite the global abundance of biomass burning for cooking, forests clearing for agriculture and wild fires, the optical properties of these aerosols have not been characterized at wide range of wavelengths. Our laboratory uses a combination of Cavity ring down spectroscopy and integrating nephelometry to measure optical properties of (extinction, absorption and scattering coefficients) of biomass aerosols. Preliminary results will be presented. Supported by the Department of Defense under Grant #W911NF-11-1-0188.

CALIPSO Detection of an Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vemier, J.-P.; Thomason, L. W.; Kar, J.

2011-01-01

The first four years of the CALIPSO lidar measurements have revealed the existence of an aerosol layer at the tropopause level associated with the Asian monsoon season in June, July and August. This Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL) extends geographically from Eastern Mediterranean (down to North Africa) to Western China (down to Thailand), and vertically from 13 to 18 km. The Scattering Ratio inferred from CALIPSO shows values between 1.10. 1.15 on average with associated depolarization ratio of less than 5%. The Gaussian distribution of the points indicates that the mean value is statistically driven by an enhancement of the background aerosol level and not by episodic events such as a volcanic eruption or cloud contamination. Further satellite observations of aerosols and gases as well as field campaigns are urgently needed to characterize this layer, which is likely to be a significant source of non-volcanic aerosols for the global upper troposphere with a potential impact on its radiative and chemical balance

Forty-eight-inch lidar aerosol measurements taken at the Langley Research Center, May 1974 to December 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuller, W. H., Jr.; Osborn, M. T.; Hunt, W. H.

1988-01-01

A ground based lidar system located at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was used to obtain high resolution vertical profiles of the stratospheric and upper tropospheric aerosol since 1974. More than 200 measurements obtained at a wavelength of 0.6943 microns during 1974 to 1987 are summarized. Plots of peak backscatter mixing ratio and integrated backscatter vs time are presented for the entire measurement sequence. The plots highlight the influence of several major volcanic eruptions on the long term stratospheric aerosol layer. In particular, the eruptions of El Chichon in late Mar. to early Apr. 1982, produced a massive aerosol layer. Aerosol enhancement from El Chichon reached Hampton, Va. by May 1982, with a scattering ratio of approx. 50 detected on Jul. 1, 1982. In addition, scattering ratio profiles for June 1982 to December 1987, along with tables containing numerical values of the backscatter ratio and backscattering function versus altitude, are included to further describe the upper tropospheric and stratospheric aerosol layer. A 14 year summary is presented, in a ready to use format, of lidar observations at a fixed midlatitude location to be used for further study.

The CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS instrument – Part 2: Raman scattering probability measurements and retrieval of aerosol optical properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ortega, Ivan; Coburn, Sean; Berg, Larry K.

In this study, the multiannual global mean of aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD 550) over land is ~0.19, and that over oceans is ~0.13. About 45 % of the Earth surface shows AOD 550 smaller than 0.1. There is a need for measurement techniques that are optimized to measure aerosol optical properties under low AOD conditions. We present an inherently calibrated retrieval (i.e., no need for radiance calibration) to simultaneously measure AOD and the aerosol phase function parameter, g, based on measurements of azimuth distributions of the Raman scattering probability (RSP), the near-absolute rotational Raman scattering (RRS) intensity.more » We employ radiative transfer model simulations to show that for solar azimuth RSP measurements at solar elevation and solar zenith angle (SZA) smaller than 80°, RSP is insensitive to the vertical distribution of aerosols and maximally sensitive to changes in AOD and g under near-molecular scattering conditions. The University of Colorado two-dimensional Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS) instrument was deployed as part of the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) at Cape Cod, MA, during the summer of 2012 to measure direct sun spectra and RSP from scattered light spectra at solar relative azimuth angles (SRAAs) between 5 and 170°. During two case study days with (1) high aerosol load (17 July, 0.3 < AOD 430 < 0.6) and (2) near-molecular scattering conditions (22 July, AOD 430 < 0.13) we compare RSP-based retrievals of AOD 430 and g with data from a co-located CIMEL sun photometer, Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), and an airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2). The average difference (relative to DOAS) for AOD 430 is +0.012 ± 0.023 (CIMEL), –0.012 ± 0.024 (MFRSR), –0.011 ± 0.014 (HSRL-2), and +0.023 ± 0.013 (CIMEL AOD –MFRSR AOD) and yields the following expressions for correlations between different instruments: DOAS AOD = –(0

The CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS instrument – Part 2: Raman scattering probability measurements and retrieval of aerosol optical properties

DOE PAGES

Ortega, Ivan; Coburn, Sean; Berg, Larry K.; ...

2016-08-23

In this study, the multiannual global mean of aerosol optical depth at 550 nm (AOD 550) over land is ~0.19, and that over oceans is ~0.13. About 45 % of the Earth surface shows AOD 550 smaller than 0.1. There is a need for measurement techniques that are optimized to measure aerosol optical properties under low AOD conditions. We present an inherently calibrated retrieval (i.e., no need for radiance calibration) to simultaneously measure AOD and the aerosol phase function parameter, g, based on measurements of azimuth distributions of the Raman scattering probability (RSP), the near-absolute rotational Raman scattering (RRS) intensity.more » We employ radiative transfer model simulations to show that for solar azimuth RSP measurements at solar elevation and solar zenith angle (SZA) smaller than 80°, RSP is insensitive to the vertical distribution of aerosols and maximally sensitive to changes in AOD and g under near-molecular scattering conditions. The University of Colorado two-dimensional Multi-AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (CU 2-D-MAX-DOAS) instrument was deployed as part of the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) at Cape Cod, MA, during the summer of 2012 to measure direct sun spectra and RSP from scattered light spectra at solar relative azimuth angles (SRAAs) between 5 and 170°. During two case study days with (1) high aerosol load (17 July, 0.3 < AOD 430 < 0.6) and (2) near-molecular scattering conditions (22 July, AOD 430 < 0.13) we compare RSP-based retrievals of AOD 430 and g with data from a co-located CIMEL sun photometer, Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), and an airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-2). The average difference (relative to DOAS) for AOD 430 is +0.012 ± 0.023 (CIMEL), –0.012 ± 0.024 (MFRSR), –0.011 ± 0.014 (HSRL-2), and +0.023 ± 0.013 (CIMEL AOD –MFRSR AOD) and yields the following expressions for correlations between different instruments: DOAS AOD = –(0

WE-EF-207-10: Striped Ratio Grids: A New Concept for Scatter Estimation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsieh, S

2015-06-15

Purpose: To propose a new method for estimating scatter in x-ray imaging. We propose the “striped ratio grid,” an anti-scatter grid with alternating stripes of high scatter rejection (attained, for example, by high grid ratio) and low scatter rejection. To minimize artifacts, stripes are oriented parallel to the direction of the ramp filter. Signal discontinuities at the boundaries between stripes provide information on local scatter content, although these discontinuities are contaminated by variation in primary radiation. Methods: We emulated a striped ratio grid by imaging phantoms with two sequential CT scans, one with and one without a conventional grid, andmore » processed them together to mimic a striped ratio grid. Two phantoms were scanned with the emulated striped ratio grid and compared with a conventional anti-scatter grid and a fan-beam acquisition, which served as ground truth. A nonlinear image processing algorithm was developed to mitigate the problem of primary variation. Results: The emulated striped ratio grid reduced scatter more effectively than the conventional grid alone. Contrast is thereby improved in projection imaging. In CT imaging, cupping is markedly reduced. Artifacts introduced by the striped ratio grid appear to be minimal. Conclusion: Striped ratio grids could be a simple and effective evolution of conventional anti-scatter grids. Unlike several other approaches currently under investigation for scatter management, striped ratio grids require minimal computation, little new hardware (at least for systems which already use removable grids) and impose few assumptions on the nature of the object being scanned.« less

North Atlantic Aerosol Single Scattering Albedos: TARFOX and ACE-2 Results and Their Relation to Radiative Effects Derived from Satellite Optical Depths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Bergstrom, R. W.; Schmid, B.; Livingston, J. M.; Redemann, J.; Quinn, P. K.; Carrico, C. M.; Rood, M. J.

2000-01-01

Bergstrom and Russell estimated direct solar radiative flux changes caused by atmospheric aerosols over the mid-latitude North Atlantic Ocean under cloud-free and cloudy conditions. They excluded African dust aerosols, primarily by restricting calculations to latitudes 25-60 N. As inputs they used midvisible aerosol optical depth (AOD) maps derived from AVHRR satellite measurements and aerosol intensive properties determined primarily in the 1996 IGAC Troposheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX). Those aerosol intensive properties, which included optical depth wavelength dependence and spectra of single scattering albedo (SSA) and scattering asymmetry parameter, were also checked against initial properties from the 1997 North Atlantic Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE 2). Bergstrom and Russell investigated the sensitivity of their derived flux changes to assumed input parameters, including midvisible AOD, SSA, and scattering asymmetry parameter. Although the sensitivity of net flux change at the tropopause to SSA was moderate over the ocean (e.g., a SSA uncertainty of 0.07 produced a flux-change uncertainty of 21%), the sensitivity over common land surfaces can be much larger. Also, flux changes within and below the aerosol layer, which affect atmospheric stability, heating rates, and cloud formation and persistence, are quite sensitive to aerosol SSA. Therefore, this paper focuses on the question: "What have we learned from TARFOX and ACE 2 regarding aerosol single scattering albedo?" Three techniques were used in TARFOX to determine midvisible SSA. One of these derived SSA as a best-fit parameter in comparing radiative flux changes measured by airborne pyranometer to those computed from aerosol properties. Another technique combined airborne measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption by nephelometer and absorption photometer. A third technique obtained SSA from best-fit complex refractive indices derived by comparing

Particle Scattering in the Resonance Regime: Full-Wave Solution for Axisymmetric Particles with Large Aspect Ratios

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuffada, Cinzia; Crisp, David

1997-01-01

Reliable descriptions of the optical properties of clouds and aerosols are essential for studies of radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres. The scattering algorithms provide accurate estimates of these properties for spherical particles with a wide range of sizes and refractive indices, but these methods are not valid for non-spherical particles (e.g., ice crystals, mineral dust, and smoke). Even though a host of methods exist for deriving the optical properties of nonspherical particles that are very small or very large compared with the wavelength, only a few methods are valid in the resonance regime, where the particle dimensions are comparable with the wavelength. Most such methods are not ideal for particles with sharp edges or large axial ratios. We explore the utility of an integral equation approach for deriving the single-scattering optical properties of axisymmetric particles with large axial ratios. The accuracy of this technique is shown for spheres of increasing size parameters and an ensemble of randomly oriented prolate spheroids of size parameter equal to 10.079368. In this last case our results are compared with published results obtained with the T-matrix approach. Next we derive cross sections, single-scattering albedos, and phase functions for cylinders, disks, and spheroids of ice with dimensions extending from the Rayleigh to the geometric optics regime. Compared with those for a standard surface integral equation method, the storage requirement and the computer time needed by this method are reduced, thus making it attractive for generating databases to be used in multiple-scattering calculations. Our results show that water ice disks and cylinders are more strongly absorbing than equivalent volume spheres at most infrared wavelengths. The geometry of these particles also affects the angular dependence of the scattering. Disks and columns with maximum linear dimensions larger than the wavelength scatter much more radiation in the forward

View From a Megacity: Aerosol Light Absorption and Scattering at Four Sites in and Near Mexico City.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, G.; Arnott, W. P.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.

2006-12-01

As part of the Megacity Impacts on Regional and Global Environments, MIRAGE-Mex deployment to Mexico City in the period of 30 days, March 2006, a suite of photoacoustic spectrometers (PAS) were installed to measure at ground level the light absorption and scattering by aerosols at four sites: an urban site at Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (Mexican Oil Institute, denoted by IMP), a suburban site at the Technological University of Tecamac, a rural site at "La Biznaga" ranch, and a site at the Paseo de Cortes (altitude 3,810 meters ASL) in the rural area above Amecameca in the State of Mexico, on the saddle between the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The IMP site gave in-situ characterization of the Mexico City plume under favorable wind conditions while the other sites provided characterization of the plume, mixed in with any local sources. The second and third sites are north of Mexico City, and the fourth site is south. The PAS used at IMP operates at 532 nm, and conveniently allowed for characterization of gaseous absorption at this wavelength as well. Instruments at the second and third sites operate at 870 nm, and the one at the fourth site at 780 nm. Light scattering measurements are accomplished within the PAS by the reciprocal nephelometery method. In the urban site the aerosol absorption coefficient typically varies between 40 and 250 Mm-1 during the course of the day and significant diurnal variation of the aerosol single scattering albedo was observed. Comparisons with TSI nephelometer scattering and Aetholemeter absorption measurements at the T0 site will be presented. We will present a broad overview of the diurnal variation of the scattering and absorption as well as the single scattering albedo and fraction of absorption due to gases at the IMP site. Insight on the dynamical connections will be discussed.

Factors for inconsistent aerosol single scattering albedo between SKYNET and AERONET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatri, P.; Takamura, T.; Nakajima, T.; Estellés, V.; Irie, H.; Kuze, H.; Campanelli, M.; Sinyuk, A.; Lee, S.-M.; Sohn, B. J.; Pandithurai, G.; Kim, S.-W.; Yoon, S. C.; Martinez-Lozano, J. A.; Hashimoto, M.; Devara, P. C. S.; Manago, N.

2016-02-01

SKYNET and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) retrieved aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) values of four sites, Chiba (Japan), Pune (India), Valencia (Spain), and Seoul (Korea), were compared to understand the factors behind often noted large SSA differences between them. SKYNET and AERONET algorithms are found to produce nearly same SSAs for similarity in input data, suggesting that SSA differences between them are primarily due to quality of input data due to different calibration and/or observation protocols as well as difference in quality assurance criteria. The most plausible reason for high SSAs in SKYNET is found to be underestimated calibration constant for sky radiance (ΔΩ). The disk scan method (scan area: 1° × 1° area of solar disk) of SKYNET is noted to produce stable wavelength-dependent ΔΩ values in comparison to those determined from the integrating sphere used by AERONET to calibrate sky radiance. Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) difference between them can be the next important factor for their SSA difference, if AOTs between them are not consistent. Inconsistent values of surface albedo while analyzing data of SKYNET and AERONET can also bring SSA difference between them, but the effect of surface albedo is secondary. The aerosol nonsphericity effect is found to be less important for SSA difference between these two networks.

Absorption and scattering properties of organic carbon vs. sulfate dominant aerosols at Gosan climate observatory in Northeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, S.; Lee, M.; Kim, S.-W.; Yoon, S.-C.; Lee, G.; Lee, Y.

2013-12-01

Carbonaceous and soluble ionic species of PM1.0 and PM10 were measured along with the absorption and scattering properties and aerosol number size distributions at Gosan climate observatory (GCO) from January to September 2008. The daily averaged equivalent black carbon (EBC) measured as aerosol absorption exhibited two types of spectral dependence with a distinct maximum (peak) at either 370 nm or 880 nm, by which two subsets were extracted and classified into the respective groups (370 nm and 880 nm). The 370 nm group was distinguished by high organic carbon (OC) concentrations relative to elemental carbon (EC) and sulfate, but sulfate was predominant for the 880 nm group. The PM1.0 OC of the 370 nm group was mainly composed of refractory and pyrolized components that correlated well with PM1.0 EC1, referred to as char EC, which suggests biofuel and biomass combustion as the source of these OC fractions, particularly during winter. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and the number size distributions implied that aerosols of the 370 nm group were externally mixed upon transport in fast-moving air masses that passed through the Beijing area in about one day. In contrast, the aerosols of the 880 nm group were characterized by high sulfate concentrations, and seemed to be internally mixed during slow transport over the Yellow Sea region over approximately two to four days. The absorption and scattering coefficients of the 880 nm group were noticeably higher compared to those of the 370 nm group. The average absorption ångström exponent (AAE) was estimated to be 1.29 and 1.0 for the 370 nm and 880 nm groups, respectively, in the range 370-950 nm. These results demonstrated that the optical properties of aerosols were intimately linked to chemical composition and mixing state, characteristics determined both by source and atmospheric aging processes. In OC dominant aerosols, absorption was enhanced in the UV region, which was possibly due to refractory and

Absorption and scattering properties of organic carbon versus sulfate dominant aerosols at Gosan climate observatory in Northeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, S.; Lee, M.; Kim, S.-W.; Yoon, S.-C.; Lee, G.; Lee, Y. J.

2014-08-01

Carbonaceous and soluble ionic species of PM1.0 and PM10 were measured along with the absorption and scattering properties and aerosol number size distributions at Gosan Climate Observatory (GCO) from January to September 2008. The daily averaged equivalent black carbon (EBC) measured as aerosol absorption exhibited two types of spectral dependence with a distinct maximum (peak) at either 370 nm or 880 nm, by which two subsets were extracted and classified into the respective groups (370 and 880 nm). The 370 nm group was distinguished by high organic carbon (OC) concentrations relative to elemental carbon (EC) and sulfate, but sulfate was predominant for the 880 nm group. The PM1.0 OC of the 370 nm group was mainly composed of refractory and pyrolized components that correlated well with PM1.0 EC1, referred to as char EC, which suggests biofuel and biomass combustion as the source of these OC fractions, particularly during winter. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and the number size distributions implied that aerosols of the 370 nm group were externally mixed upon transport in fast-moving air masses that passed through the Beijing area in about one day. In contrast, the aerosols of the 880 nm group were characterized by high sulfate concentrations, and seemed to be internally mixed during slow transport over the Yellow Sea region over approximately 2 to 4 days. The absorption and scattering coefficients of the 880 nm group were noticeably higher compared to those of the 370 nm group. The average absorption ångström exponent (AAE) was estimated to be 1.29 and 1.0 for the 370 and 880 nm groups, respectively, in the range 370-950 nm. These results demonstrated that the optical properties of aerosols were intimately linked to chemical composition and mixing state, characteristics determined both by source and atmospheric aging processes. In OC dominant aerosols, absorption was enhanced in the UV region, which was possibly due to refractory and pyrolized

Aerosol Optical Properties and Chemical Composition Measured on the Ronald H. Brown During ACE-Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, P. K.; Bates, T. S.; Miller, T. L.; Coffman, D.

2001-12-01

Measurements of aerosol chemical, physical, and optical properties were made onboard the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown during the ACE-Asia Intensive Field Program to characterize Asian aerosol as it was transported across the Pacific Ocean. The ship traveled across the Pacific from Hawaii to Japan and into the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. Trajectories indicate that remote marine air masses were sampled on the transit to Japan. In the ACE-Asia study region air masses from Japan, China, Mongolia, and the Korea Peninsula were sampled. A variety of aerosol types were encountered including those of marine, volcanic, crustal, and industrial origin. Presented here, for the different air masses encountered, are aerosol optical properties (scattering and absorption coefficients, single scattering albedo, Angstrom Exponent, and aerosol optical depth) and chemical composition (major ions, total organic and black carbon, and trace elements). Scattering by submicron aerosol (55 % RH and 550 nm) was less than 20 1/Mm during the transit from Hawaii to Japan. In continental air masses, values ranged from 60 to 320 1/Mm with the highest submicron scattering coefficients occurring during prefrontal conditions with a low marine boundary layer height and trajectories from Japan. For the continental air masses, the ratio of scattering by submicron to sub-10 micron aerosol during polluted conditions averaged 0.8 and during a dust event 0.41. Aerosol optical depth (500 nm) ranged from 0.08 during the Pacific transit to 1.3 in the prefrontal conditions described above. Optical depths during dust events ranged from 0.2 to 0.6. Submicron non-sea salt (nss) sulfate concentrations ranged from 0.5 ug/m-3 during the Pacific transit to near 30 ug/m-3 during the prefrontal conditions described above. Black carbon to total carbon mass ratios in air masses from Asia averaged 0.18 with highest values (0.32) corresponding to trajectories crossing the Yangtze River valley.

Methodology for the passive detection and discrimination of chemical and biological aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinelli, William J.; Shokhirev, Kirill N.; Konno, Daisei; Rossi, David C.; Richardson, Martin

2013-05-01

The standoff detection and discrimination of aerosolized biological and chemical agents has traditionally been addressed through LIDAR approaches, but sensor systems using these methods have yet to be deployed. We discuss the development and testing of an approach to detect these aerosols using the deployed base of passive infrared hyperspectral sensors used for chemical vapor detection. The detection of aerosols requires the inclusion of down welling sky and up welling ground radiation in the description of the radiative transfer process. The wavelength and size dependent ratio of absorption to scattering provides much of the discrimination capability. The approach to the detection of aerosols utilizes much of the same phenomenology employed in vapor detection; however, the sensor system must acquire information on non-line-of-sight sources of radiation contributing to the scattering process. We describe the general methodology developed to detect chemical or biological aerosols, including justifications for the simplifying assumptions that enable the development of a real-time sensor system. Mie scattering calculations, aerosol size distribution dependence, and the angular dependence of the scattering on the aerosol signature will be discussed. This methodology will then be applied to two test cases: the ground level release of a biological aerosol (BG) and a nonbiological confuser (kaolin clay) as well as the debris field resulting from the intercept of a cruise missile carrying a thickened VX warhead. A field measurement, conducted at the Utah Test and Training Range will be used to illustrate the issues associated with the use of the method.

A study on the use of radar and lidar for characterizing ultragiant aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madonna, F.; Amodeo, A.; D'Amico, G.; Pappalardo, G.

2013-09-01

19 April to 19 May 2010, volcanic aerosol layers originating from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano were observed at the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis of the National Research Council of Italy Atmospheric Observatory, named CIAO (40.60°N, 15.72°E, 760 m above sea level), in Southern Italy with a multiwavelength Raman lidar. During this period, ultragiant aerosols were also observed at CIAO using a colocated 8.45 mm wavelength Doppler radar. The Ka-band radar signatures observed in four separate days (19 April and 7, 10, and 13 May) are consistent with the observation of nonspherical ultragiant aerosols characterized by values of linear depolarization ratio (LDR) higher than -4 dB. Air mass back trajectory analysis suggests a volcanic origin of the ultragiant aerosols observed by the radar. The observed values of the radar reflectivity (Ze) are consistent with a particle effective radius (r) larger than 50-75 µm. Scattering simulations based on the T-matrix approach show that the high LDR values can be explained if the observed particles have an absolute aspect ratio larger than 3.0 and consist of an internal aerosol core and external ice shell, with a variable radius ratio ranging between 0.2 and 0.7 depending on the shape and aspect ratio. Comparisons between daytime vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter coefficient (β) as measured by lidar and radar LDR reveal a decrease of β where ultragiant particles are observed. Scattering simulations based on Mie theory show how the lidar capability in typing ultragiant aerosols could be limited by low number concentrations or by the presence of an external ice shell covering the aerosol particles. Preferential vertical alignment of the particles is discussed as another possible reason for the decrease of β.

Lidar determination of the composition of atmosphere aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wright, M. L.

1980-01-01

Theoretical and experimental studies of the feasibility of using DIfferential SCatter (DISC) lidar to measure the composition of atmospheric aerosols are described. This technique involves multiwavelength measurements of the backscatter cross section of aerosols in the middle infrared, where a number of materials display strong restrahlen features that significantly modulate the backscatter spectrum. The theoretical work indicates that a number of materials of interest, including sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfate, and silicates, can be discriminated among with a CO2 lidar. An initial evaluation of this procedure was performed in which cirrus clouds and lower altitude tropospheric aerosols were developed. The observed ratio spectrum of the two types of aerosol displays structure that is in crude accord with theoretical expectations.

On remote sensing of small aerosol particles with polarized light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, W.

2012-12-01

The CALIPSO satellite mission consistently measures volume (including molecule and particulate) light depolarization ratio of ~2% for smoke, compared to ~1% for marine aerosols and ~15% for dust. The observed ~2% smoke depolarization ratio comes primarily from the nonspherical habits of particles in the smoke at certain particle sizes. The depolarization of linearly polarized light by small sphere aggregates and irregular Gaussian-shaped particles is studied, to reveal the physics between the depolarization of linearly polarized light and aerosol shape and size. It is found that randomly oriented nonspherical particles have some common depolarization properties as functions of scattering angle and size parameter. This may be very useful information for active remote sensing of small nonspherical aerosols using polarized light. We also show that the depolarization ratio from the CALIPSO measurements could be used to derive smoke aerosol particle size. The mean particle size of South-African smoke is estimated to be about half of the 532 nm wavelength of the CALIPSO lidar.

Aerosols, light, and water: Measurements of aerosol optical properties at different relative humidities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orozco, Daniel

The Earth's atmosphere is composed of a large number of different gases as well as tiny suspended particles, both in solid and liquid state. These tiny particles, called atmospheric aerosols, have an immense impact on our health and on our global climate. Atmospheric aerosols influence the Earth's radiation budget both directly and indirectly. In the direct effect, aerosols scatter and absorb sunlight changing the radiative balance of the Earth-atmosphere system. Aerosols indirectly influence the Earth's radiation budget by modifying the microphysical and radiative properties of clouds as well as their water content and lifetime. In ambient conditions, aerosol particles experience hygroscopic growth due to the influence of relative humidity (RH), scattering more light than when the particles are dry. The quantitative knowledge of the RH effect and its influence on the light scattering coefficient and, in particular, on the phase function and polarization of aerosol particles is of substantial importance when comparing ground based observations with other optical aerosol measurements techniques such satellite and sunphotometric retrievals of aerosol optical depth and their inversions. This dissertation presents the aerosol hygroscopicity experiment investigated using a novel dryer-humidifier system, coupled to a TSI-3563 nephelometer, to obtain the light scattering coefficient (sp) as a function of relative humidity (RH) in hydration and dehydration modes. The measurements were performed in Porterville, CA (Jan 10-Feb 6, 2013), Baltimore, MD (Jul 3-30, 2013), and Golden, CO (Jul 12-Aug 10, 2014). Observations in Porterville and Golden were part of the NASA-sponsored DISCOVER-AQ project. The measured sp under varying RH in the three sites was combined with ground aerosol extinction, PM2:5mass concentrations, particle composition measurements, and compared with airborne observations performed during campaigns. The enhancement factor, f(RH), defined as the ratio of sp

Characterization of biomass burning aerosols produced in the laboratory with a light-scattering aerosol mass spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middlebrook, A. M.; Adler, G. A.; Coggon, M.; De Gouw, J. A.; Franchin, A.; Gilman, J.; Koss, A.; Krechmer, J. E.; Lamb, K.; Manfred, K.; Roberts, J. M.; Schwarz, J. P.; Sekimoto, K.; Selimovic, V.; Stockwell, C.; Wagner, N.; Warneke, C.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Womack, C.; Yokelson, R. J.; Yuan, B.

2017-12-01

During the 2016 NOAA FIREX project at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, small fires of known fuel type and properties were ignited to characterize their direct emissions with a large variety of new sampling methods. Two types of experiments were employed: sampling smoke directly from the exhaust stack throughout the lifecycle of the fires (stack burns) or sampling when the exhaust vent was closed to fill the room with smoke (room burns). For both types of burns, photo-oxidation chambers were at times used to mimic aging in the atmosphere. During all these experiments, we measured the non-refractory components of the smoke particles using an Aerodyne compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) with a light scattering module and diluted the sample line as little as possible (usually by a factor of 10) without overwhelming our instrument. For the stack burns, our AMS was placed near the top of the exhaust stack to capture the composition and size distribution during the rapidly changing stages of the fires. We found that the chemical composition of the aerosols varied with fuel type and combustion conditions on time scales of a few minutes as the fuels went through different stages of heating and combustion. For the room burns, we obtained additional measurements with the light-scattering module aimed at understanding how well smoke particles are measured with the AMS, along with characterization of their physical properties. We will present a summary of our results, with connections to their relevance for constraining model treatments of fire emissions on the atmosphere.

Modelling of strong heterogeneities in aerosol single scattering albedos over a polluted region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallet, M.; Pont, V.; Liousse, C.

2005-05-01

To date, most models dedicated to the investigation of aerosol direct or semi-direct radiative forcings have assumed the various aerosol components to be either completely externally mixed or homogeneously internally mixed. Some recent works have shown that a core-shell treatment of particles should be more realistic, leading to significant differences in the radiative impact as compared to only externally or well-internally mixed states. To account for these studies, an optical module, ORISAM-RAD, has been developed for computing aerosol radiative properties under the hypothesis of internally mixed particles with a n-layer spherical concentric structure. Mesoscale simulations using ORISAM-RAD, coupled with the 3D mesoscale model Meso-NH-C, have been performed for one selected day (06/24/2001) during the ESCOMPTE experiment in the Marseilles-Fos/Berre region, which illustrate the ability of this new module to reproduce spatial heterogeneities of measured single scattering albedo (ωo), due to industrial and/or urban pollution plumes.

Evaluation of Air Pollution Applications of AERONET and MODIS Aerosol Column Optical Depth by Comparison with In Situ Measurements of Aerosol Light Scattering and Absorption for Reno, NV, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loria Salazar, S.; Arnott, W. P.; Moosmuller, H.; Colucci, D.

2012-12-01

Reno, Nevada, USA is subject to typical urban aerosol, wind-blown dust, and occasional biomass burning smoke from anthropogenic and natural fires. Reno has complex air flow at levels relevant for aerosol transport. At times recirculating mountain and urban flow arrives from the Sierra Nevada, San Francisco, CA and Sacramento, CA. The urban plumes are further modified by biogenic forest emissions and secondary aerosol formation during transport over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Reno. This complicates the use of MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) for air quality measurements in Reno. Our laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno has collocated multispectral photoacoustic instruments and reciprocal nephelometers to measure light absorption and light scattering coefficients as well as an AERONET operated CIMEL CE-318 ground-based sunphotometer. Preliminary measurements from August 2011 indicate substantially larger Cimel AOD than could be accounted for by use of the in situ aerosol extinction measurements combined with mixing height estimate. This poster presents new results comparing AERONET AOD and single scattering albedo and MODIS AOD with in situ measurements for summer and fall 2012, along with extensive back trajectory analysis, to evaluate conditions when satellite measurement may be useful for air pollution applications in Reno.

Atmospheric aerosols: Their Optical Properties and Effects (supplement)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

A digest of technical papers is presented. Topics include aerosol size distribution from spectral attenuation with scattering measurements; comparison of extinction and backscattering coefficients for measured and analytic stratospheric aerosol size distributions; using hybrid methods to solve problems in radiative transfer and in multiple scattering; blue moon phenomena; absorption refractive index of aerosols in the Denver pollution cloud; a two dimensional stratospheric model of the dispersion of aerosols from the Fuego volcanic eruption; the variation of the aerosol volume to light scattering coefficient; spectrophone in situ measurements of the absorption of visible light by aerosols; a reassessment of the Krakatoa volcanic turbidity, and multiple scattering in the sky radiance.

Vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties based on aircraft measurements over the Loess Plateau in China.

PubMed

Li, Junxia; Liu, Xingang; Yuan, Liang; Yin, Yan; Li, Zhanqing; Li, Peiren; Ren, Gang; Jin, Lijun; Li, Runjun; Dong, Zipeng; Li, Yiyu; Yang, Junmei

2015-08-01

Vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties based on aircraft measurements over the Loess Plateau were measured for the first time during a summertime aircraft campaign, 2013 in Shanxi, China. Data from four flights were analyzed. The vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties including aerosol scattering coefficients (σsc), absorption coefficients (σab), Angström exponent (α), single scattering albedo (ω), backscattering ratio (βsc), aerosol mass scattering proficiency (Qsc) and aerosol surface scattering proficiency (Qsc(')) were obtained. The mean statistical values of σsc were 77.45 Mm(-1) (at 450 nm), 50.72 Mm(-1) (at 550n m), and 32.02 Mm(-1) (at 700 nm). The mean value of σab was 7.62 Mm(-1) (at 550 nm). The mean values of α, βsc and ω were 1.93, 0.15, and 0.91, respectively. Aerosol concentration decreased with altitude. Most effective diameters (ED) of aerosols were less than 0.8 μm. The vertical profiles of σsc,, α, βsc, Qsc and Qsc(') showed that the aerosol scattering properties at lower levels contributed the most to the total aerosol radiative forcing. Both α and βsc had relatively large values, suggesting that most aerosols in the observational region were small particles. The mean values of σsc, α, βsc, Qsc, Qsc('), σab and ω at different height ranges showed that most of the parameters decreased with altitude. The forty-eight hour backward trajectories of air masses during the observation days indicated that the majority of aerosols in the lower level contributed the most to the total aerosol loading, and most of these particles originated from local or regional pollution emissions. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Tropospheric ozone and aerosols measured by airborne lidar during the 1988 Arctic boundary layer experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Browell, Edward V.; Butler, Carolyn F.; Kooi, Susan A.

1991-01-01

Ozone (O3) and aerosol distributions were measured from an aircraft using a differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system as part of the 1988 NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment - Arctic Boundary Layer Experiment (ABLE-3A) to study the sources and sinks of gases and aerosols over the tundra regions of Alaska during the summer. The tropospheric O3 budget over the Arctic was found to be strongly influenced by stratospheric intrusions. Regions of low aerosol scattering and enhanced O3 mixing ratios were usually correlated with descending air from the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere. Several cases of continental polar air masses were examined during the experiment. The aerosol scattering associated with these air masses was very low, and the atmospheric distribution of aerosols was quite homogeneous for those air masses that had been transported over the ice for greater than or = 3 days. The transition in O3 and aerosol distributions from tundra to marine conditions was examined several times. The aerosol data clearly show an abrupt change in aerosol scattering properties within the mixed layer from lower values over the tundra to generally higher values over the water. The distinct differences in the heights of the mixed layers in the two regions was also readily apparent. Several cases of enhanced O3 were observed during ABLE-3 in conjunction with enhanced aerosol scattering in layers in the free atmosphere. Examples are presented of the large scale variations of O3 and aerosols observed with the airborne lidar system from near the surface to above the tropopause over the Arctic during ABLE-3.

Calibration correction of an active scattering spectrometer probe to account for refractive index of stratospheric aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pueschel, R. F.; Overbeck, V. R.; Snetsinger, K. G.; Russell, P. B.; Ferry, G. V.

1990-01-01

The use of the active scattering spectrometer probe (ASAS-X) to measure sulfuric acid aerosols on U-2 and ER-2 research aircraft has yielded results that are at times ambiguous due to the dependence of particles' optical signatures on refractive index as well as physical dimensions. The calibration correction of the ASAS-X optical spectrometer probe for stratospheric aerosol studies is validated through an independent and simultaneous sampling of the particles with impactors; sizing and counting of particles on SEM images yields total particle areas and volumes. Upon correction of calibration in light of these data, spectrometer results averaged over four size distributions are found to agree with similarly averaged impactor results to within a few percent: indicating that the optical properties or chemical composition of the sample aerosol must be known in order to achieve accurate optical aerosol spectrometer size analysis.

Aerosol Optical Properties Measured Onboard the Ronald H. Brown During ACE Asia as a Function of Aerosol Chemical Composition and Source Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, P. K.; Coffman, D. J.; Bates, T. S.; Welton, E. J.; Covert, D. S.; Miller, T. L.; Johnson, J. E.; Maria, S.; Russell, L.; Arimoto, R.

2004-01-01

During the ACE Asia intensive field campaign conducted in the spring of 2001 aerosol properties were measured onboard the R/V Ronald H. Brown to study the effects of the Asian aerosol on atmospheric chemistry and climate in downwind regions. Aerosol properties measured in the marine boundary layer included chemical composition; number size distribution; and light scattering, hemispheric backscattering, and absorption coefficients. In addition, optical depth and vertical profiles of aerosol 180 deg backscatter were measured. Aerosol within the ACE Asia study region was found to be a complex mixture resulting from marine, pollution, volcanic, and dust sources. Presented here as a function of air mass source region are the mass fractions of the dominant aerosol chemical components, the fraction of the scattering measured at the surface due to each component, mass scattering efficiencies of the individual components, aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients, single scattering albedo, Angstrom exponents, optical depth, and vertical profiles of aerosol extinction. All results except aerosol optical depth and the vertical profiles of aerosol extinction are reported at a relative humidity of 55 +/- 5%. An over-determined data set was collected so that measured and calculated aerosol properties could be compared, internal consistency in the data set could be assessed, and sources of uncertainty could be identified. By taking into account non-sphericity of the dust aerosol, calculated and measured aerosol mass and scattering coefficients agreed within overall experimental uncertainties. Differences between measured and calculated aerosol absorption coefficients were not within reasonable uncertainty limits, however, and may indicate the inability of Mie theory and the assumption of internally mixed homogeneous spheres to predict absorption by the ACE Asia aerosol. Mass scattering efficiencies of non-sea salt sulfate aerosol, sea salt, submicron particulate organic

Forecasting Plant Productivity and Health Using Diffuse-to-Global Irradiance Ratios Extracted from the OMI Aerosol Product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knowlton, Kelly; Andrews, Jane C.; Ryan, Robert E.

2007-01-01

Atmospheric aerosols are a major contributor to diffuse irradiance. This Candidate Solution suggests using the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) aerosol product as input into a radiative transfer model, which would calculate the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance at the Earth s surface. This ratio can significantly influence the rate of photosynthesis in plants; increasing the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance can accelerate photosynthesis, resulting in greater plant productivity. Accurate values of this ratio could be useful in predicting crop productivity, thereby improving forecasts of regional food resources. However, disagreements exist between diffuse-to-global irradiance values measured by different satellites and ground sensors. OMI, with its unique combination of spectral bands, high resolution, and daily global coverage, may be able to provide more accurate aerosol measurements than other comparable sensors.

Real refractive indices and formation yields of secondary organic aerosol generated from photooxidation of limonene and α-pinene: the effect of the HC/NO(x) ratio.

PubMed

Kim, Hwajin; Barkey, Brian; Paulson, Suzanne E

2012-06-21

The refractive index is an important property affecting aerosol optical properties, which in turn help determine the aerosol direct effect and satellite retrieval results. Here, we investigate the real refractive indices (m(r)) of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) generated from the photooxidation of limonene and α-pinene with different HC/NO(x) ratios. Refractive indices were obtained from polar nephelometer data using parallel and perpendicular polarized 532 nm light combined with measured size distributions, and retrievals were performed using a genetic algorithm and Mie-Lorenz scattering theory. The absolute error associated with the m(r) retrieval is ±0.03, and reliable retrievals are possible for mass concentrations above 5-20 μg/m(3) depending on particle size. The limonene SOA data suggest the most important factor controlling the refractive index is the HC/NO(x) ratio; the refractive index is much less sensitive to the aerosol age or mass concentration. The refractive index ranges from about 1.34 to 1.56 for limonene and from 1.36 to 1.52 for α-pinene, and generally decreases as the HC/NO(x) ratio increases. Especially for limonene, the particle diameter is also inversely related to the HC/NO(x) ratio; the final size mode increases from 220 to 330 nm as the HC/NO(x) ratio decreases from 33 to 6. In an effort to explore the ability of models from the literature to explain the observed refractive indices, a recent limonene oxidation mechanism was combined with SOA partitioning and a structure-property relationship for estimating refractive indices of condensing species. The resulting refractive indices fell in a much narrower range (1.475 ± 0.02) of m(r) than observed experimentally. We hypothesize the experimentally observed high m(r) values are due to oligomerization and the low values to water uptake, small soluble molecules such as glyoxal and other factors, each of which is not included in the oxidation mechanism. Aerosol formation yields were

Interrelationships Between Aerosol Characteristics and Light Scattering During Late-winter in a Eastern Mediterranean Arid Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ichoku, C.; Andreae, M. O.; Meixner, F. X.; Schebeske, G.; Formenti, P.; Maenhaut, W.; Cafmeyer, J.; Ptasinski, J.; Karnieli, A.; Orlovsky, L.

1999-01-01

An intensive field campaign involving measurement of various aerosol physical, chemical, and radiative properties was conducted at Sde Boker in the Negev Desert of Israel, from 18 February to 15 March 1997. Nephelometer measurements gave average background scattering coefficient values of about 25 M/m at 550 nm wavelength, but strong dust events caused the value of this parameter to rise up to about 800 M/m Backscattering fractions did not depend on aerosol loading, and generally fell in the range of 0.1 to 0.25, comparable to values reported for marine and Arctic environments. Chemical analysis of the aerosol revealed that, in the coarse size range (2 - 10 micrometer equivalent aerodynamic diameter (EAD)), calcium (Ca) was by far the most abundant element followed by silicon (Si), both of which are indicators for mineral dust. In the fine size fraction (< 2 micrometers EAD), sulfur (S) generally was the dominant element, except during high dust episodes when Ca and Si were again the most abundant. Furthermore, fine black carbon (BC) correlates with S, suggesting that they may have originated from the same sources or source regions. An indication of the short-term effect of aerosol loading on radiative forcing was provided by measurements of global and diffuse solar radiation, which showed that during high turbidity periods (strong dust events) almost all of the solar radiation reaching the area is scattered or absorbed.

Interrelationships between aerosol characteristics and light scattering during late winter in an Eastern Mediterranean arid environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichoku, Charles; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Andreae, Tracey W.; Meixner, Franz X.; Schebeske, Guenther; Formenti, Paola; Maenhaut, Willy; Cafmeyer, Jan; Ptasinski, Jacek; Karnieli, Arnon; Orlovsky, Leah

1999-10-01

An intensive field campaign involving measurement of various aerosol physical, chemical, and radiative properties was conducted at Sde Boker (also written as Sede Boqer) in the Negev Desert of Israel, from 18 February to 15 March 1997. Nephelometer measurements gave average background scattering coefficient values of about 25 Mm-1 at 550 nm wavelength, but strong dust events caused the value of this parameter to rise up to about 800 Mm-1. Backscattering fractions did not depend on aerosol loading and generally fell in the range of 0.1 to 0.25, comparable to values reported for marine and Arctic environments. Chemical analysis of the aerosol revealed that in the coarse size range (2-10 μm equivalent aerodynamic diameter (EAD)), calcium (Ca) was by far the most abundant element followed by silicon (Si), both of which are indicators for mineral dust. In the fine size fraction (<2 μm EAD), sulfur (S) generally was the dominant element, except during high dust episodes when Ca and Si were again the most abundant. Furthermore, fine black carbon (BC) correlates with S, suggesting that they may have originated from the same sources or source regions. An indication of the short-term effect of aerosol loading on radiative forcing was provided by measurements of global and diffuse solar radiation, which showed that during high-turbidity periods (strong dust events), almost all of the solar radiation reaching the area is scattered or absorbed.

Algorithms for radiative transfer simulations for aerosol retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukai, Sonoyo; Sano, Itaru; Nakata, Makiko

2012-11-01

Aerosol retrieval work from satellite data, i.e. aerosol remote sensing, is divided into three parts as: satellite data analysis, aerosol modeling and multiple light scattering calculation in the atmosphere model which is called radiative transfer simulation. The aerosol model is compiled from the accumulated measurements during more than ten years provided with the world wide aerosol monitoring network (AERONET). The radiative transfer simulations take Rayleigh scattering by molecules and Mie scattering by aerosols in the atmosphere, and reflection by the Earth surface into account. Thus the aerosol properties are estimated by comparing satellite measurements with the numerical values of radiation simulations in the Earth-atmosphere-surface model. It is reasonable to consider that the precise simulation of multiple light-scattering processes is necessary, and needs a long computational time especially in an optically thick atmosphere model. Therefore efficient algorithms for radiative transfer problems are indispensable to retrieve aerosols from space.

Elemental ratios and enrichment factors in aerosols from the US-GEOTRACES North Atlantic transects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shelley, Rachel U.; Morton, Peter L.; Landing, William M.

2015-06-01

The North Atlantic receives the highest aerosol (dust) input of all the oceanic basins. Dust deposition provides essential bioactive elements, as well as pollution-derived elements, to the surface ocean. The arid regions of North Africa are the predominant source of dust to the North Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we describe the elemental composition (Li, Na, Mg, Al, P, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Pb, Th, U) of the bulk aerosol from samples collected during the US-GEOTRACES North Atlantic Zonal Transect (2010/11) in order to highlight the differences between a Saharan dust end-member and the reported elemental composition of the upper continental crust (UCC), and the implications this has for identifying trace element enrichment in aerosols across the North Atlantic basin. As aerosol titanium (Ti) is less soluble than aerosol aluminum (Al), it is a more conservative tracer for lithogenic aerosols and trace element-to-Ti ratios. However, the presence of Ti-rich fine aerosols can confound the interpretation of elemental enrichments, making Al a more robust tracer of aerosol lithogenic material in this region.

Aerosol Light Absorption and Scattering at Four Sites in and Near Mexico City: Comparison with Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnott, W. P.; Miranda, G. P.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.

2007-05-01

Four photoacoustic spectrometers (PAS) for aerosol light scattering and absorption measurements were deployed in and near Mexico City in March 2006 as part of the Megacity Impacts on Regional and Global Environments (MIRAGE). The four sites included: an urban site at Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (Mexican Oil Institute, denoted by IMP); a suburban site at the Technological University of Tecamac; a rural site at "La Biznaga" ranch; and a site at the Paseo de Cortes (altitude 3,810 meters ASL) in the rural area above Amecameca in the State of Mexico, on the saddle between the volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. A similar campaign was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in January-February, 2003. The IMP site gave in-situ characterization of the Mexico City plume under favorable wind conditions while the other sites provided characterization of the plume, mixed in with any local sources. The second and third sites are north of Mexico City, and the fourth site is south. The PAS used at IMP operates at 532 nm, and conveniently allowed for characterization of gaseous absorption at this wavelength as well. Instruments at the second and third sites operate at 870 nm, and the one at the fourth site at 780 nm. Light scattering measurements are accomplished within the PAS by the reciprocal nephelometery method. In the urban site the aerosol absorption coefficient typically varies between 20 and 180 Mm-1 during the course of the day and significant diurnal variation of the aerosol single scattering albedo was observed probably as a consequence of secondary aerosol formation. Comparisons with TSI nephelometer scattering at the T0 site will be presented. We will present the diurnal variation of the scattering and absorption as well as the single scattering albedo and fraction of absorption due to gases at the IMP site and compare with Las Vegas diurnal variation. Mexico City 'breaths' more during the course of the day than Las Vegas, Nevada in part because the latitude of

Influence of surface roughness on the elastic-light scattering patterns of micron-sized aerosol particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auger, J.-C.; Fernandes, G. E.; Aptowicz, K. B.; Pan, Y.-L.; Chang, R. K.

2010-04-01

The relation between the surface roughness of aerosol particles and the appearance of island-like features in their angle-resolved elastic-light scattering patterns is investigated both experimentally and with numerical simulation. Elastic scattering patterns of polystyrene spheres, Bacillus subtilis spores and cells, and NaCl crystals are measured and statistical properties of the island-like intensity features in their patterns are presented. The island-like features for each class of particle are found to be similar; however, principal-component analysis applied to extracted features is able to differentiate between some of the particle classes. Numerically calculated scattering patterns of Chebyshev particles and aggregates of spheres are analyzed and show qualitative agreement with experimental results.

Hygroscopic Measurements of Aerosol Particles in Colorado during the Discover AQ Campaign 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orozco, D.; Delgado, R.; Espinosa, R.; Martins, J. V.; Hoff, R. M.

2014-12-01

In ambient conditions, aerosol particles experience hygroscopic growth due to the influence of relative humidity (RH), scattering more light than when the particles are dry. The quantitative knowledge of the RH effect and its influence on the light scattering and, in particular, on the phase function and polarization of aerosol particles is of substantial importance when comparing ground observations with other optical aerosol measurements such satellite and sunphotometric retrievals of aerosol optical depth and their inversions. In the summer of 2014, the DISCOVER-AQ campaign was held in Colorado, where systematic and concurrent observations of column- integrated surface, and vertically-resolved distributions of aerosols and trace gases relevant to air quality and their evolution during the day were observed. Aerosol optical properties were measured in the UMBC trailer at the city of Golden using a TSI-3563 nephelometer and an in-situ Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-NEPH) designed and built by the LACO group at UMBC. The PI-NEPH measures aerosol phase matrix components in high angular range between 2 and 178 degrees scattering angle at three wavelengths (λ=473, 532 and 671nm). The two measured elements of the phase matrix, intensity (P11) and linear polarization (P12) provide extensive characterization of the scattering properties of the studied aerosol. The scattering coefficient, P11 and P12 were measured under different humidity conditions to obtain the enhancement factor f(RH) and the dependence of P11 and P12 to RH using a humidifier dryer system covering a RH range from 20 to 90%. The ratio between scattering coefficients at high and low humidity in Golden Colorado showed relatively low hygroscopic growth in the aerosol particles f(RH=80%) was 1.27±0.19 for the first three weeks of sampling. According to speciated measurements performed at the UMBC trailer, the predominance of dust and organic aerosols over more hygroscopic nitrate and sulfate in the

Measurements of aerosol absorption and scattering in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area during the MILAGRO field campaign: a comparison of results from the T0 and T1 sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marley, N. A.; Gaffney, J. S.; Castro, T.; Salcido, A.; Frederick, J.

2008-07-01

Measurements of aerosol absorption and scattering were obtained in Mexico City during the MILAGRO (Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations) field campaign in March 2006. A comparison of aerosol absorption and scattering was obtained in Mexico City at site T0 located in the northern part of Mexico City at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo Laboratories and at site T1 located at the Universidad Tecnológica de Tecamac, 18 miles northwest of T0. Hourly averages of aerosol absorption were similar at both sites, ranging from 6 93 Mm-1 with an average of 31 Mm-1 at T0; and from 2 104 Mm-1 with an average of 19 Mm-1 at T1. Aerosol scattering at T0 ranged from 16 344 Mm-1 with an average of 105 Mm-1; while the scattering values at T1 were lower than T0 ranging from 2 136 with an average of 53 Mm-1. Aerosol single scattering albedos (SSAs) were determined at both sites using these data. SSAs at T1 ranged from 0.44 0.90 with an average 0.75 as compared to hose at T0, range 0.51 0.93 with an average of 0.77. Broadband UV-B intensity was found to be higher at site T0, with an average of 64 μW/cm2 at solar noon, than at site T1, which had an average of 54 μW/cm2 at solar noon. Comparisons of clear-sky modeled UV-B intensities with the simultaneous UV-B measurements obtained at site T0 and at site T1 for cloudless days indicate a larger diffuse radiation field at site T0 than at site T1. The determination of aerosol scattering Ångstrom coefficient at T0 suggests the larger diffuse radiation is due to the predominance of submicron aerosols at T0 with aerosol scattering of UV-B radiation peaked in the forward direction, leading to the enhancement observed at ground level.

Evaluation of biomass burning aerosols in the HadGEM3 climate model with observations from the SAMBBA field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Ben T.; Haywood, James M.; Langridge, Justin M.; Darbyshire, Eoghan; Morgan, William T.; Szpek, Kate; Brooke, Jennifer K.; Marenco, Franco; Coe, Hugh; Artaxo, Paulo; Longo, Karla M.; Mulcahy, Jane P.; Mann, Graham W.; Dalvi, Mohit; Bellouin, Nicolas

2016-11-01

We present observations of biomass burning aerosol from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) and other measurement campaigns, and use these to evaluate the representation of biomass burning aerosol properties and processes in a state-of-the-art climate model. The evaluation includes detailed comparisons with aircraft and ground data, along with remote sensing observations from MODIS and AERONET. We demonstrate several improvements to aerosol properties following the implementation of the Global Model for Aerosol Processes (GLOMAP-mode) modal aerosol scheme in the HadGEM3 climate model. This predicts the particle size distribution, composition, and optical properties, giving increased accuracy in the representation of aerosol properties and physical-chemical processes over the Coupled Large-scale Aerosol Scheme for Simulations in Climate Models (CLASSIC) bulk aerosol scheme previously used in HadGEM2. Although both models give similar regional distributions of carbonaceous aerosol mass and aerosol optical depth (AOD), GLOMAP-mode is better able to capture the observed size distribution, single scattering albedo, and Ångström exponent across different tropical biomass burning source regions. Both aerosol schemes overestimate the uptake of water compared to recent observations, CLASSIC more so than GLOMAP-mode, leading to a likely overestimation of aerosol scattering, AOD, and single scattering albedo at high relative humidity. Observed aerosol vertical distributions were well captured when biomass burning aerosol emissions were injected uniformly from the surface to 3 km. Finally, good agreement between observed and modelled AOD was gained only after scaling up GFED3 emissions by a factor of 1.6 for CLASSIC and 2.0 for GLOMAP-mode. We attribute this difference in scaling factor mainly to different assumptions for the water uptake and growth of aerosol mass during ageing via oxidation and condensation of organics. We also note that similar agreement

Raman Lidar Measurements of Aerosol Extinction and Backscattering. Report 2; Derivation of Aerosol Real Refractive Index, Single-Scattering Albedo, and Humidification Factor using Raman Lidar and Aircraft Size Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D. N.; Evans, K. D.; Poellot, M.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1998-01-01

Aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles measured by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scanning Raman Lidar (SRL) during the remote cloud sensing (RCS) intensive operations period (IOP) at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) southern Great Plains (SGP) site during two nights in April 1994 are discussed. These profiles are shown to be consistent with the simultaneous aerosol size distribution measurements made by a PCASP (Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe) optical particle counter flown on the University of North Dakota Citation aircraft. We describe a technique which uses both lidar and PCASP measurements to derive the dependence of particle size on relative humidity, the aerosol real refractive index n, and estimate the effective single-scattering albedo Omega(sub 0). Values of n ranged between 1.4-1.5 (dry) and 1.37-1.47 (wet); Omega(sub 0) varied between 0.7 and 1.0. The single-scattering albedo derived from this technique is sensitive to the manner in which absorbing particles are represented in the aerosol mixture; representing the absorbing particles as an internal mixture rather than the external mixture assumed here results in generally higher values of Omega(sub 0). The lidar measurements indicate that the change in particle size with relative humidity as measured by the PCASP can be represented in the form discussed by Hattel with the exponent gamma = 0.3 + or - 0.05. The variations in aerosol optical and physical characteristics captured in the lidar and aircraft size distribution measurements are discussed in the context of the meteorological conditions observed during the experiment.

Raman lidar measurements of aerosol extinction and backscattering: 2. Derivation of aerosol real refractive index, single-scattering albedo, and humidification factor using Raman lidar and aircraft size distribution measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D. N.; Evans, K. D.; Poellot, M.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1998-08-01

Aerosol backscattering and extinction profiles measured by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scanning Raman Lidar (SRL) during the remote cloud sensing (RCS) intensive operations period (IOP) at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) southern Great Plains (SGP) site during two nights in April 1994 are discussed. These profiles are shown to be consistent with the simultaneous aerosol size distribution measurements made by a PCASP (Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe) optical particle counter flown on the University of North Dakota Citation aircraft. We describe a technique which uses both lidar and PCASP measurements to derive the dependence of particle size on relative humidity, the aerosol real refractive index n, and estimate the effective single-scattering albedo ω0. Values of n ranged between 1.4-1.5 (dry) and 1.37-1.47 (wet); ω0 varied between 0.7 and 1.0. The single-scattering albedo derived from this technique is sensitive to the manner in which absorbing particles are represented in the aerosol mixture; representing the absorbing particles as an internal mixture rather than the external mixture assumed here results in generally higher values of ω0. The lidar measurements indicate that the change in particle size with relative humidity as measured by the PCASP can be represented in the form discussed by Hanel [1976] with the exponent γ = 0.3 ± 0.05. The variations in aerosol optical and physical characteristics captured in the lidar and aircraft size distribution measurements are discussed in the context of the meteorological conditions observed during the experiment.

Determination of nocturnal aerosol properties from a combination of lunar photometer and lidar observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Donghui; Li, Zhengqiang; Lv, Yang; Zhang, Ying; Li, Kaitao; Xu, Hua

2015-10-01

Aerosol plays a key role in the assessment of global climate change and environmental health, while observation is one of important way to deepen the understanding of aerosol properties. In this study, the newly instrument - lunar photometer is used to measure moonlight and nocturnal column aerosol optical depth (AOD, τ) is retrieved. The AOD algorithm is test and verified with sun photometer both in high and low aerosol loading. Ångström exponent (α) and fine/coarse mode AOD (τf, τc) 1 is derived from spectral AOD. The column aerosol properties (τ, α, τf, τc) inferred from the lunar photometer is analyzed based on two month measurement in Beijing. Micro-pulse lidar has advantages in retrieval of aerosol vertical distribution, especially in night. However, the typical solution of lidar equation needs lidar ratio(ratio of aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficient) assumed in advance(Fernald method), or constrained by AOD2. Yet lidar ratio is varied with aerosol type and not easy to fixed, and AOD is used of daylight measurement, which is not authentic when aerosol loading is different from day and night. In this paper, the nocturnal AOD measurement from lunar photometer combined with mie scattering lidar observations to inverse aerosol extinction coefficient(σ) profile in Beijing is discussed.

Raman scattering method and apparatus for measuring isotope ratios and isotopic abundances

DOEpatents

Harney, Robert C.; Bloom, Stewart D.

1978-01-01

Raman scattering is used to measure isotope ratios and/or isotopic abundances. A beam of quasi-monochromatic photons is directed onto the sample to be analyzed, and the resulting Raman-scattered photons are detected and counted for each isotopic species of interest. These photon counts are treated mathematically to yield the desired isotope ratios or isotopic abundances.

Case study of modeled aerosol optical properties during the SAFARI 2000 campaign

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuzmanoski, Maja; Box, Michael A.; Schmid, Beat

2007-08-01

We present modeled aerosol optical properties (single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, and lidar ratio) in two layers with different aerosol loadings and particle sizes, observed during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative 2000 (SAFARI 2000) campaign. The optical properties were calculated from aerosol size distributions retrieved from aerosol layer optical thickness spectra, measured using the NASA Ames airborne tracking 14-channel sunphotometer (AATS-14) and the refractive index based on the available information on aerosol chemical composition. The study focuses on sensitivity of modeled optical properties in the 0.3–1.5 μm wavelength range to assumptions regarding the mixing scenario. We considered two modelsmore » for the mixture of absorbing and nonabsorbing aerosol components commonly used to model optical properties of biomass burning aerosol: a layered sphere with absorbing core and nonabsorbing shell and the Maxwell–Garnett effective medium model. In addition, comparisons of modeled optical properties with the measurements are discussed. We also estimated the radiative effect of the difference in aerosol absorption implied by the large difference between the single scattering albedo values (~0.1 at midvisible wavelengths) obtained from different measurement methods for the case with a high amount of biomass burning particles. For that purpose, the volume fraction of black carbon was varied to obtain a range of single scattering albedo values (0.81–0.91 at λ=0.50 μm). Finally, the difference in absorption resulted in a significant difference in the instantaneous radiative forcing at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and can result in a change of the sign of the aerosol forcing at TOA from negative to positive.« less

Ozone and aerosol distributions measured by airborne lidar during the 1988 Arctic Boundary Layer Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Browell, Edward V.; Butler, Carolyn F.; Kooi, Susan A.

1991-01-01

Consideration is given to O3 and aerosol distributions measured from an aircraft using a DIAL system in order to study the sources and sinks of gases and aerosols over the tundra regions of Alaska during summer 1988. The tropospheric O3 budget over the Arctic was found to be strongly influenced by stratospheric intrusions. Regions of low aerosol scattering and enhanced O3 mixing ratios were usually correlated with descending air from the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere.

OM/OC Ratio and Specific Attenuation Coefficient in Ambient Particulate Matter at a Rural Site in Southern Ontario: Implications for Aerosol Aging and Emission Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, T. W.; Huang, L.; Leaitch, R.; Sharma, S.; Brook, J.; Slowik, J.; Abbatt, J.

2008-05-01

Carbonaceous species (organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC)) contribute a large portion of atmospheric fine particle mass and influence air quality, human health, and climate forcing. However, their emission sources and atmospheric aging processes are not well understood. The OM/OC ratio, defined as the organic mass per unit OC mass, is useful to understand the degree of oxidation of aerosol particles in atmospheric processes. We define the modified BC/EC (mod BC/EC) ratio as the ratio of the non-scattering corrected absorption coefficient per unit mass of EC. The mod BC/EC ratio has a similar meaning as the site specific attenuation coefficient, which is an important parameter used to convert light absorption measurements to black carbon mass. The mod BC/EC ratio can vary due to light scattering effect on absorption measurements, in which the oxygenated organics may play a role. The pyrolysis organic carbon (POC) is defined as the carbon mass fraction obtained at T= 870°C under a pure helium environment using the thermal separation method [Huang et al., 2006]. Since POC mass is generally proportional to the amount of oxygenated OC, studying the relationships among OC, EC, POC, as well as OM/OC and mod BC/EC ratios may help us understand the mechanisms of aerosol aging from different emission sources. Two 1-month field studies were conducted at a rural site in southern Ontario (NW of Toronto) during fall 2005 and spring 2007. Quartz filter samples were collected and analyzed for OC, POC, and EC concentrations using a thermal/optical method [Huang et al., 2006]. Together with the total organic matter measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and the absorption coefficient obtained from a Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), the OM/OC and mod BC/EC ratios for ambient aerosols were obtained. Our results show that when air mass was mainly from south, OC, POC, and EC were relatively high, with average ratios of OC/EC, OM/OC, and POC/EC as 1

Composition and physical properties of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer and the North American Tropospheric Aerosol Layer: Composition of ATAL and NATAL

DOE PAGES

Yu, Pengfei; Toon, Owen B.; Neely, Ryan R.; ...

2015-04-10

Recent studies revealed layers of enhanced aerosol scattering in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over Asia (Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL)) and North America (North American Tropospheric Aerosol Layer (NATAL)). We use a sectional aerosol model (Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA)) coupled with the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) to explore the composition and optical properties of these aerosol layers. The observed aerosol extinction enhancement is reproduced by CESM1/CARMA. Both model and observations indicate a strong gradient of the sulfur-to-carbon ratio from Europe to the Asia on constant pressure surfaces. We found that themore » ATAL is mostly composed of sulfates, surface-emitted organics, and secondary organics; the NATAL is mostly composed of sulfates and secondary organics. In conclusion, the model also suggests that emission increases in Asia between 2000 and 2010 led to an increase of aerosol optical depth of the ATAL by 0.002 on average which is consistent with observations.« less

Composition and physical properties of the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer and the North American Tropospheric Aerosol Layer: Composition of ATAL and NATAL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Pengfei; Toon, Owen B.; Neely, Ryan R.

Recent studies revealed layers of enhanced aerosol scattering in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over Asia (Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL)) and North America (North American Tropospheric Aerosol Layer (NATAL)). We use a sectional aerosol model (Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA)) coupled with the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) to explore the composition and optical properties of these aerosol layers. The observed aerosol extinction enhancement is reproduced by CESM1/CARMA. Both model and observations indicate a strong gradient of the sulfur-to-carbon ratio from Europe to the Asia on constant pressure surfaces. We found that themore » ATAL is mostly composed of sulfates, surface-emitted organics, and secondary organics; the NATAL is mostly composed of sulfates and secondary organics. In conclusion, the model also suggests that emission increases in Asia between 2000 and 2010 led to an increase of aerosol optical depth of the ATAL by 0.002 on average which is consistent with observations.« less

Scattering and radiative properties of complex soot and soot-containing particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, L.; Mishchenko, M. I.; Mackowski, D. W.; Dlugach, J.

2012-12-01

Tropospheric soot and soot containing aerosols often exhibit nonspherical overall shapes and complex morphologies. They can externally, semi-externally, and internally mix with other aerosol species. This poses a tremendous challenge in particle characterization, remote sensing, and global climate modeling studies. To address these challenges, we used the new numerically exact public-domain Fortran-90 code based on the superposition T-matrix method (STMM) and other theoretical models to analyze the potential effects of aggregation and heterogeneity on light scattering and absorption by morphologically complex soot containing particles. The parameters we computed include the whole scattering matrix elements, linear depolarization ratios, optical cross-sections, asymmetry parameters, and single scattering albedos. It is shown that the optical characteristics of soot and soot containing aerosols very much depend on particle sizes, compositions, and aerosol overall shapes. The soot particle configurations and heterogeneities can have a substantial effect that can result in a significant enhancement of extinction and absorption relative to those computed from the Lorenz-Mie theory. Meanwhile the model calculated information combined with in-situ and remote sensed data can be used to constrain soot particle shapes and sizes which are much needed in climate models.

Validation of TOMS Aerosol Products using AERONET Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhartia, P. K.; Torres, O.; Sinyuk, A.; Holben, B.

2002-01-01

The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aerosol algorithm uses measurements of radiances at two near UV channels in the range 331-380 nm to derive aerosol optical depth and single scattering albedo. Because of the low near UV surface albedo of all terrestrial surfaces (between 0.02 and 0.08), the TOMS algorithm has the capability of retrieving aerosol properties over the oceans and the continents. The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) routinely derives spectral aerosol optical depth and single scattering albedo at a large number of sites around the globe. We have performed comparisons of both aerosol optical depth and single scattering albedo derived from TOMS and AERONET. In general, the TOMS aerosol products agree well with the ground-based observations, Results of this validation will be discussed.

Comparison of Aerosol Optical Properties and Water Vapor Among Ground and Airborne Lidars and Sun Photometers During TARFOX

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, R.; Ismail, S.; Browell, E.; Brackett, V.; Clayton, M.; Kooi, S.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D.; Schwemmer, G.; Evans, K.;

Measurements of the absorption coefficient of stratospheric aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ogren, J. A.; Ahlquist, N. C.; Clarke, A. D.; Charlson, R. J.

1981-01-01

The absorption coefficients of stratospheric aerosols are measured using a variation on the integrating plate method. The technique is based on the decrease in the transparency of a substrate when an absorbing aerosol is deposited on it. A Lambert scatterer is placed behind the substrate to integrate forward scattered light and minimize the effect of scattering on the measurement. The low pressure in the stratosphere is used for the direct impaction of particles onto a narrow strip of opal glass. The eight samples collected had a median value of 4 x 10 to the -9th m with an uncertainty of + or - 5 x 10 to the -9th m. If this absorption is due to graphitic carbon, then its concentration is estimated at about 0.4 ng/cu m, or about 0.25% of the total aerosol mass concentration. Estimates of the aerosol scattering coefficients based on satellite extinction inversions result in an aerosol single-scattering albedo in the range of 0.96-1.0.

Role of interfacial water in the heterogeneous uptake of glyoxal by mixed glycine and ammonium sulfate aerosols.

PubMed

Trainic, Miri; Riziq, Ali Abo; Lavi, Avi; Rudich, Yinon

2012-06-21

This study focuses on the heterogeneous reactions of gas phase glyoxal with aerosols of glycine, the most abundant amino acid in atmospheric aerosols, as well as with a mixture of glycine and ammonium sulfate (AS) at a molar ratio of 1:100 (glycine-AS 1:100). Aerosols were exposed to varying relative humidity (RH) conditions in the presence of gas phase glyoxal for ∼1 h, followed by drying and efflorescence. The changes in size, chemical composition, and optical properties were consequently measured. The reactions occur over a wide range of relative humidities, from ∼30% up to 90% RH, covering values that are substantially lower as well as above the deliquescence point of the investigated aerosols. The product aerosols exhibit a trend of increasing growth in size, in optical extinction cross sections, and in extinction efficiencies (at λ = 355 nm) with decreasing seed aerosol size, and with decreasing RH values from 90% to ∼50%. For glycine-AS 1:100 particles, the ratio of the geometric cross section of the product aerosol to the original seed aerosol reached a value of ∼3, the optical extinction cross section ratio was up to ∼25, and the Q(ext) ratio was up to ∼8, exceeding those of both AS and glycine separately, suggesting a synergistic effect. Aerosol mass spectrometer analyses show that the main products of all the studied reactions are glyoxal oligomers (light scattering compounds), with a minor contribution from imidazoles (absorbing compounds at λ = 355 nm). These findings imply that the changes in the optical properties are likely due to enhanced scattering by the reaction products. The fraction of absorbing substances in the reacted aerosol increases with increasing RH, suggesting that the absorption component may become more substantial after longer reaction times, possibly in cloud or fog droplets. The results suggest that these reactions are possibly important in low RH regions, plausibly due to the reaction occurring in a few interfacial

Differences in the OC/EC Ratios that Characterize Ambient and Source Aerosols due to Thermal-Optical Analysis

EPA Science Inventory

Thermal-optical analysis (TOA) is typically used to measure the OC/EC (organic carbon/elemental carbon) and EC/TC (elemental carbon/total carbon) ratios in source and atmospheric aerosols. The present study utilizes a dual-optical carbon aerosol analyzer to examine the effects of...

AIP1OGREN: Aerosol Observing Station Intensive Properties Value-Added Product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koontz, Annette; Flynn, Connor

The aip1ogren value-added product (VAP) computes several aerosol intensive properties. It requires as input calibrated, corrected, aerosol extensive properties (scattering and absorption coefficients, primarily) from the Aerosol Observing Station (AOS). Aerosol extensive properties depend on both the nature of the aerosol and the amount of the aerosol. We compute several properties as relationships between the various extensive properties. These intensive properties are independent of aerosol amount and instead relate to intrinsic properties of the aerosol itself. Along with the original extensive properties we report aerosol single-scattering albedo, hemispheric backscatter fraction, asymmetry parameter, and Ångström exponent for scattering and absorption withmore » one-minute averaging. An hourly averaged file is produced from the 1-minute files that includes all extensive and intensive properties as well as submicron scattering and submicron absorption fractions. Finally, in both the minutely and hourly files the aerosol radiative forcing efficiency is provided.« less

Variations in the OM/OC ratio of urban organic aerosol next to a major roadway.

PubMed

Brown, Steven G; Lee, Taehyoung; Roberts, Paul T; Collett, Jeffrey L

2013-12-01

Understanding the organic matter/organic carbon (OM/OC) ratio in ambient particulate matter (PM) is critical to achieve mass closure in routine PM measurements, to assess the sources of and the degree of chemical processing organic aerosol particles have undergone, and to relate ambient pollutant concentrations to health effects. Of particular interest is how the OM/OC ratio varies in the urban environment, where strong spatial and temporal gradients in source emissions are common. We provide results of near-roadway high-time-resolution PM1 OM concentration and OM/OC ratio observations during January 2008 at Fyfe Elementary School in Las Vegas, NV, 18 m from the U.S. 95 freeway soundwall, measured with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS). The average OM/OC ratio was 1.54 (+/- 0.20 standard deviation), typical of environments with a low amount of secondary aerosol formation. The 2-min average OM/OC ratios varied between 1.17 and 2.67, and daily average OM/OC ratios varied between 1.44 and 1.73. The ratios were highest during periods of low OM concentrations and generally low during periods of high OM concentrations. OM/OC ratios were low (1.52 +/- 0.14, on average) during the morning rush hour (average OM = 2.4 microg/m3), when vehicular emissions dominate this near-road measurement site. The ratios were slightly lower (1.46 +/- 0.10) in the evening (average OM = 6.3 microg/m3), when a combination of vehicular and fresh residential biomass burning emissions was typically present during times with temperature inversions. The hourly averaged OM/OC ratio peaked at 1.66 at midday. OM concentrations were similar regardless of whether the monitoring site was downwind or upwind of the adjacent freeway throughout the day, though they were higher during stagnant conditions (wind speed < 0.5 m/sec). The OM/OC ratio generally varied more with time of day than with wind direction and speed.

Retrieval of water vapor column abundance and aerosol properties from ChemCam passive sky spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McConnochie, Timothy H.; Smith, Michael D.; Wolff, Michael J.; Bender, Steve; Lemmon, Mark; Wiens, Roger C.; Maurice, Sylvestre; Gasnault, Olivier; Lasue, Jeremie; Meslin, Pierre-Yves; Harri, Ari-Matti; Genzer, Maria; Kemppinen, Osku; Martínez, Germán M.; DeFlores, Lauren; Blaney, Diana; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Bell, James F.

2018-06-01

We derive water vapor column abundances and aerosol properties from Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ChemCam passive mode observations of scattered sky light. This paper covers the methodology and initial results for water vapor and also provides preliminary results for aerosols. The data set presented here includes the results of 113 observations spanning from Mars Year 31 Ls = 291° (March 30, 2013) to Mars Year 33 Ls= 127° (March 24, 2016). Each ChemCam passive sky observation acquires spectra at two different elevation angles. We fit these spectra with a discrete-ordinates multiple scattering radiative transfer model, using the correlated-k approximation for gas absorption bands. The retrieval proceeds by first fitting the continuum of the ratio of the two elevation angles to solve for aerosol properties, and then fitting the continuum-removed ratio to solve for gas abundances. The final step of the retrieval makes use of the observed CO2 absorptions and the known CO2 abundance to correct the retrieved water vapor abundance for the effects of the vertical distribution of scattering aerosols and to derive an aerosol scale height parameter. Our water vapor results give water vapor column abundance with a precision of ±0.6 precipitable microns and systematic errors no larger than ±0.3 precipitable microns, assuming uniform vertical mixing. The ChemCam-retrieved water abundances show, with only a few exceptions, the same seasonal behavior and the same timing of seasonal minima and maxima as the TES, CRISM, and REMS-H data sets that we compare them to. However ChemCam-retrieved water abundances are generally lower than zonal and regional scale from-orbit water vapor data, while at the same time being significantly larger than pre-dawn REMS-H abundances. Pending further analysis of REMS-H volume mixing ratio uncertainties, the differences between ChemCam and REMS-H pre-dawn mixing ratios appear to be much too large to be explained by large scale circulations and thus

Stratospheric aerosols and climatic change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toon, O. B.; Pollack, J. B.

1978-01-01

Stratospht1ic sulfuric acid particles scatter and absorb sunlight and they scatter, absorb and emit terrestrial thermal radiation. These interactions play a role in the earth's radiation balance and therefore affect climate. The stratospheric aerosols are perturbed by volcanic injection of SO2 and ash, by aircraft injection of SO2, by rocket exhaust of Al2O3 and by tropospheric mixing of particles and pollutant SO2 and COS. In order to assess the effects of these perturbations on climate, the effects of the aerosols on the radiation balance must be understood and in order to understand the radiation effects the properties of the aerosols must be known. The discussion covers the aerosols' effect on the radiation balance. It is shown that the aerosol size distribution controls whether the aerosols will tend to warm or cool the earth's surface. Calculations of aerosol properties, including size distribution, for various perturbation sources are carried out on the basis of an aerosol model. Calculations are also presented of the climatic impact of perturbed aerosols due to volcanic eruptions and Space Shuttle flights.

Aerosol single-scattering albedo over the global oceans: Comparing PARASOL retrievals with AERONET, OMI, and AeroCom models estimates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lacagnina, Carlo; Hasekamp, Otto P.; Bian, Huisheng

2015-09-27

The aerosol Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) over the global oceans is evaluated based on polarimetric measurements by the PARASOL satellite. The retrieved values for SSA and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) agree well with the ground-based measurements of the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). The global coverage provided by the PARASOL observations represents a unique opportunity to evaluate SSA and AOD simulated by atmospheric transport model runs, as performed in the AeroCom framework. The SSA estimate provided by the AeroCom models is generally higher than the SSA retrieved from both PARASOL and AERONET. On the other hand, the mean simulated AOD ismore » about right or slightly underestimated compared with observations. An overestimate of the SSA by the models would suggest that these simulate an overly strong aerosol radiative cooling at top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and underestimate it at surface. This implies that aerosols have a potential stronger impact within the atmosphere than currently simulated.« less

Radiative Effects of Aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valero, Francisco P. J.

1996-01-01

During the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) in June 1992, two descents in cloud-free regions allowed comparison of the change in aerosol optical depth as determined by an onboard total-direct-diffuse radiometer (TDDR) to the change calculated from measured size-resolved aerosol microphysics and chemistry. Both profiles included a pollution haze from Europe but the second also included the effect of a Saharan dust layer above the haze. The separate contributions of supermicrometer (coarse) and submicrometer (fine) aerosol were determined and thermal analysis of the pollution haze indicated that the fine aerosol was composed primarily of a sulfate/water mixture with a refractory soot-like core. The soot core increased the calculated extinction by about 10% in the most polluted drier layer relative to a pure sulfate aerosol but had significantly less effect at higher humidities. A 3 km descent through a boundary layer air mass dominated by pollutant aerosol with relative humidities (RH) 10-77% yielded a close agreement between the measured and calculated aerosol optical depths (550 nm) of 0.160 (+/- 0.07) and 0. 157 (+/- 0.034) respectively. During descent the aerosol mass scattering coefficient per unit sulfate mass varied from about 5 to 16 m(exp 2)/g and primarily dependent upon ambient RH. However, the total scattering coefficient per total fine mass was far less variable at about 4+/- 0.7 m(exp 2)/g. A subsequent descent through a Saharan dust layer located above the pollution aerosol layer revealed that both layers contributed similarly to aerosol optical depth. The scattering per unit mass of the coarse aged dust was estimated at 1.1 +/- 0.2 m(exp 2)/g. The large difference (50%) in measured and calculated optical depth for the dust layer exceeded measurements.

The Scattering Outcomes of Kepler Circumbinary Planets: Planet Mass Ratio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gong, Yan-Xiang; Ji, Jianghui, E-mail: yxgong@pmo.ac.cn, E-mail: jijh@pmo.ac.cn

Recent studies reveal that the free eccentricities of Kepler-34b and Kepler-413b are much larger than their forced eccentricities, implying that scattering events may take place in their formation. The observed orbital configuration of Kepler-34b cannot be well reproduced in disk-driven migration models, whereas a two-planet scattering scenario can play a significant role of shaping the planetary configuration. These studies indicate that circumbinary planets discovered by Kepler may have experienced scattering process. In this work, we extensively investigate the scattering outcomes of circumbinary planets focusing on the effects of planet mass ratio . We find that the planetary mass ratio andmore » the the initial relative locations of planets act as two important parameters that affect the eccentricity distribution of the surviving planets. As an application of our model, we discuss the observed orbital configurations of Kepler-34b and Kepler-413b. We first adopt the results from the disk-driven models as the initial conditions, then simulate the scattering process that occurs in the late evolution stage of circumbinary planets. We show that the present orbital configurations of Kepler-34b and Kepler-413b can be well reproduced when considering a two unequal-mass planet ejection model. Our work further suggests that some of the currently discovered circumbinary single-planet systems may be survivors of original multiple-planet systems. The disk-driven migration and scattering events occurring in the late stage both play an irreplaceable role in sculpting the final systems.« less

Global Aerosol Radiative Forcing Derived from Sea WiFS-Inferred Aerosol Optical Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chou, Ming-Dah; Chan, Pui-King; Wang, Menghua

1999-01-01

Aerosol optical properties inferred from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) radiance measurements are used to compute the aerosol shortwave radiative forcing using a radiative transfer model. The aerosol optical thickness at the wavelength of 865-nm is taken from the SeaWIFS archive. It is found that the nominal optical thickness over oceans ranges from 0.1 to 0.2. Using a maritime aerosol model and the radiances measured at the various SeaWiFS channels, the Angstrom exponent is determined to be 0.2174, the single-scattering albedo to be 0.995, and the asymmetry factor to be 0.786. The radiative transfer model has eight bands in the visible and ultraviolet spectral regions and three bands in the near infrared. It includes the absorption due to aerosols, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and oxygen, and the scattering due to aerosols and gases (Rayleigh scattering). The radiative forcing is computed over global oceans for four months (January, April, July, and October, 1998) to represent four seasons. It is found that the aerosol radiative forcing is large and changes significantly with seasons near the continents with large-scale forest fires and desert dust. Averaged over oceans and the four months, the aerosol radiative forcing is approximately 7 W/sq m at the top of the atmosphere. This large radiative forcing is expected to have a significant cooling effect on the Earth's climate as implied from simulations of a number of general circulation models.

Applications of High-Resolution Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry to Measurements of Average Oxygen to Carbon Ratios in Secondary Organic Aerosols

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bateman, Adam P.; Laskin, Julia; Laskin, Alexander

2012-07-02

The applicability of high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR ESI-MS) to measurements of the average oxygen to carbon ratio (O/C) in organic aerosols was investigated. Solutions with known average O/C containing up to 10 standard compounds representative of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were analyzed and corresponding electrospray ionization efficiencies were quantified. The assumption of equal ionization efficiency commonly used in estimating O/C ratios of organic aerosols was found to be reasonably accurate. We found that the accuracy of the measured O/C ratios increases by averaging the values obtained from both (+) and (-) modes. A correlation was found betweenmore » the ratio of the ionization efficiencies in the positive and negative ESI modes with the octanol-water partition constant, and more importantly, with the compound's O/C. To demonstrate the utility of this correlation for estimating average O/C values of unknown mixtures, we analyzed the ESI (+) and ESI (-) data for SOA produced by oxidation of limonene and isoprene and compared to online O/C measurements using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). This work demonstrates that the accuracy of the HR ESI-MS methods is comparable to that of the AMS, with the added benefit of molecular identification of the aerosol constituents.« less

Classifying aerosol type using in situ surface spectral aerosol optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmeisser, Lauren; Andrews, Elisabeth; Ogren, John A.; Sheridan, Patrick; Jefferson, Anne; Sharma, Sangeeta; Kim, Jeong Eun; Sherman, James P.; Sorribas, Mar; Kalapov, Ivo; Arsov, Todor; Angelov, Christo; Mayol-Bracero, Olga L.; Labuschagne, Casper; Kim, Sang-Woo; Hoffer, András; Lin, Neng-Huei; Chia, Hao-Ping; Bergin, Michael; Sun, Junying; Liu, Peng; Wu, Hao

2017-10-01

Knowledge of aerosol size and composition is important for determining radiative forcing effects of aerosols, identifying aerosol sources and improving aerosol satellite retrieval algorithms. The ability to extrapolate aerosol size and composition, or type, from intensive aerosol optical properties can help expand the current knowledge of spatiotemporal variability in aerosol type globally, particularly where chemical composition measurements do not exist concurrently with optical property measurements. This study uses medians of the scattering Ångström exponent (SAE), absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) and single scattering albedo (SSA) from 24 stations within the NOAA/ESRL Federated Aerosol Monitoring Network to infer aerosol type using previously published aerosol classification schemes.Three methods are implemented to obtain a best estimate of dominant aerosol type at each station using aerosol optical properties. The first method plots station medians into an AAE vs. SAE plot space, so that a unique combination of intensive properties corresponds with an aerosol type. The second typing method expands on the first by introducing a multivariate cluster analysis, which aims to group stations with similar optical characteristics and thus similar dominant aerosol type. The third and final classification method pairs 3-day backward air mass trajectories with median aerosol optical properties to explore the relationship between trajectory origin (proxy for likely aerosol type) and aerosol intensive parameters, while allowing for multiple dominant aerosol types at each station.The three aerosol classification methods have some common, and thus robust, results. In general, estimating dominant aerosol type using optical properties is best suited for site locations with a stable and homogenous aerosol population, particularly continental polluted (carbonaceous aerosol), marine polluted (carbonaceous aerosol mixed with sea salt) and continental dust/biomass sites

The Effect of Organic Compounds on the Hygroscopic Properties of Inorganic Aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krieger, U. K.; Zardini, A. A.; Marcolli, C.

2006-12-01

The hygroscopicity of the aerosols plays a major role for the direct and indirect effect on the climate. It is known that aerosols are often a mixture of inorganic and organic matter. A significant fraction of the organic matter is water soluble (WSOC) and affects light scattering, water uptake and phase transitions of multicomponent aerosols. Additionally, organic matter can act as a surfactant around an inorganic particle, affecting the evaporation-condensation time scale. This research project benefits from the combined measurements performed by two different instrumentations: the electrodynamic trap at IACETH, Zürich, Switzerland, and a Tandem Differential Mobility Analizer (TDMA) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland. The Electrodynamic Trap consists of a chamber in which a levitated particle can experience all the atmospherically relevant conditions of temperature, pressure, and humidity. All these parameters can be continuously varied so that the hygroscopic curve of the aerosol particle can be measured. Additional tools help to better characterize the aerosol particle: 90 degrees angular scattering of lasers (for radius measurements) and intensity fluctuation of the scattered light with time (for phase changes detection). In this poster the results obtained through the electrodynamic balance technique will be shown and compared with the TDMA. In particular, bicomponent ammonium sulphate with adipic acid bicomponent particles are studied, with different mixing ratios. Particular emphasis is put on assessing the water uptake and the phase changes of the particles.

Vertical Profiles of Light Scattering, Light Absorption, and Single Scattering Albedo during the Dry, Biomass Burning Season in Southern Africa and Comparisons of In Situ and Remote Sensing Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magi, Brian I.; Hobbs, Peter V.; Schmid, Beat; Redermann, Jens

2003-01-01

Airborne in situ measurements of vertical profiles of aerosol light scattering, light absorption, and single scattering albedo (omega (sub 0)) are presented for a number of locations in southern Africa during the dry, biomass burning season. Features of the profiles include haze layers, clean air slots, and marked decreases in light scattering in passing from the boundary layer into the free troposphere. Frequency distributions of omega (sub 0) reflect the strong influence of smoke from biomass burning. For example, during a period when heavy smoke was advected into the region from the north, the mean value of omega (sub 0) in the boundary layer was 0.81 +/- 0.02 compared to 0.89 +/- 0.03 prior to this intrusion. Comparisons of layer aerosol optical depths derived from the in situ measurements with those measured by a Sun photometer aboard the aircraft show excellent agreement.

Simultaneous Retrieval of Effective Refractive Index and Density from Size Distribution and Light Scattering Data: Weakly-Absorbing Aerosol

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kassianov, Evgueni I.; Barnard, James C.; Pekour, Mikhail S.

2014-10-01

We propose here a novel approach for retrieving in parallel the effective density and real refractive index of weakly absorbing aerosol from optical and size distribution measurements. Here we define “weakly absorbing” as aerosol single-scattering albedos that exceed 0.95 at 0.5 um.The required optical measurements are the scattering coefficient and the hemispheric backscatter fraction, obtained in this work from an integrating nephelometer. The required size spectra come from a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer and an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer. The performance of this approach is first evaluated using a sensitivity study with synthetically generated but measurement-related inputs. The sensitivity study revealsmore » that the proposed approach is robust to random noise; additionally the uncertainties of the retrieval are almost linearly proportional to the measurement errors, and these uncertainties are smaller for the real refractive index than for the effective density. Next, actual measurements are used to evaluate our approach. These measurements include the optical, microphysical, and chemical properties of weakly absorbing aerosol which are representative of a variety of coastal summertime conditions observed during the Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP; http://campaign.arm.gov/tcap/). The evaluation includes calculating the root mean square error (RMSE) between the aerosol characteristics retrieved by our approach, and the same quantities calculated using the conventional volume mixing rule for chemical constituents. For dry conditions (defined in this work as relative humidity less than 55%) and sub-micron particles, a very good (RMSE~3%) and reasonable (RMSE~28%) agreement is obtained for the retrieved real refractive index (1.49±0.02) and effective density (1.68±0.21), respectively. Our approach permits discrimination between the retrieved aerosol characteristics of sub-micron and sub-10micron particles. The evaluation results also reveal that the

Estimation of columnar concentrations of absorbing and scattering fine mode aerosol components using AERONET data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Yongjoo; Ghim, Young Sung

2016-11-01

Columnar concentrations of absorbing and scattering components of fine mode aerosols were estimated using Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data for a site downwind of Seoul. The study period was between March 2012 and April 2013 including the period of the Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON)-Asia campaign in March to May 2012. The Maxwell Garnett mixing rule was assumed for insoluble components embedded in a host solution, while the volume average mixing rule was assumed for the aqueous solution of soluble components. During the DRAGON-Asia campaign the surface concentrations of major components of fine particles were measured. The columnar mass fractions of black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), mineral dust (MD), and ammonium sulfate (AS) were 1.5, 5.9, 6.6, and 52%, respectively, which were comparable to the mass fractions measured at the surface for BC, OC, and secondary inorganic aerosols at 2.3, 18, and 55%. The vertical distributions of BC and AS were investigated by employing the concept of a column height. While the column height for BC was similar to the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height, that for AS was 4.4 times higher than the PBL height and increased with air temperature from March to May. The monthly variations of the columnar mass concentrations during the study period were generally well explained in term of meteorology and emission characteristics. However, certain variations of MD were different from those typically observed primarily because only fine mode aerosols were considered.

Use of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in size segregated aerosol particles for the O/I penetration evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbaras, Andrius; Garbariene, Inga; Masalaite, Agne; Ceburnis, Darius; Krugly, Edvinas; Kvietkus, Kestutis; Remeikis, Vidmantas; Martuzevicius, Dainius

2015-04-01

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio are successfully used in the atmospheric aerosol particle source identification [1, 2], transformation, pollution [3] research. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the penetration of atmospheric aerosol particles from outdoor to indoor using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Six houses in Kaunas (Lithuania) were investigated during February and March 2013. Electrical low pressure impactor was used to measure in real time concentration and size distribution of outdoor aerosol particles. ELPI+ includes 15 channels covering the size range from 0.017 to 10.0 µm. The 25 mm diameter aluminium foils were used to collect aerosol particles. Gravimetric analysis of samples was made using microbalance. In parallel, indoor aerosol samples were collected with a micro-orifice uniform deposition impactor (MOUDI model 110), where the aerosol particles were separated with the nominal D50 cut-off sizes of 0.056, 0.1, 0.18,0.32,0.56, 1.0, 1.8, 3.2, 5.6, 10, 18 μm for impactor stages 1-11, respectively. The impactor was run at a flow rate of 30 L/min. Air quality meters were used to record meteorological conditions (temperature, relative humidity) during the investigated period. All aerosol samples were analyzed for total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents and their isotopic compositions using elemental analyzer (EA) connected to the stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS). TC concentration in indoors ranged from 1.5 to 247.5 µg/m3. During the sampling period outdoors TN levels ranged from 0.1 to 10.9 µg/m3. The obtained outdoor δ13C(PM2.5) values varied from -24.21 to -26.3‰, while the δ15N values varied from 2.4 to 11.1 ‰ (average 7.2±2.5 ‰). Indoors carbonaceous aerosol particles were depleted in 13C compared to outdoors in all sampling sites. This depletion in δ13C varied from 0.1 to 3.2 ‰. We think that this depletion occurs due ongoing chemical reactions (oxidation) when aerosol

Simulating Aerosol Optical Properties With the Aerosol Simulation Program (ASP): Closure Studies Using ARCTAS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarado, M. J.; Macintyre, H. L.; Bian, H.; Chin, M.; Wang, C.

2012-12-01

The scattering and absorption of ultraviolet and visible radiation by aerosols can significantly alter actinic fluxes and photolysis rates. Accurate modeling of aerosol optical properties is thus essential to simulating atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and climate. Here we evaluate the aerosol optical property predictions of the Aerosol Simulation Program (ASP) with in situ data on aerosol scattering and absorption gathered during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) campaign. The model simulations are initialized with in situ data on the aerosol size distribution and composition. We perform a set of sensitivity studies (e.g., internal vs. external mixture, core-in-shell versus Maxwell-Garnett, fraction of the organic carbon mass that is light-absorbing "brown carbon," etc.) to determine the model framework and parameters most consistent with the observations. We compare the ASP results to the aerosol optical property lookup tables in FAST-JX and suggest improvements that will better enable FAST-JX to simulate the impact of aerosols on photolysis rates and atmospheric chemistry.

Retrieving the complex refractive index of atmospheric aerosols from ratios of solar spectral extinction measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fymat, A. L.; Mease, K. D.

1978-01-01

The technique proposed by Fymat (1976) for retrieving the complex refractive index of atmospheric aerosols using narrowband spectral transmission ratios, taken within an overall narrow spectral interval, is investigated in the case of modelled polydispersions of rural, maritime-continental, maritime-sea spray and meteoric dust aerosols. It is confirmed that for not too broad size distributions most of the information comes from a narrow size range of 'active' aerosols so that, under these circumstances, the refractive index components can indeed be retrieved essentially independently of the size distribution. For 0.1% accurate data in three colors, the technique can provide the real and imaginary components of the index respectively within 0.07% and 0.3% accuracy.

High-power laser radiation in atmospheric aerosols: Nonlinear optics of aerodispersed media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuev, V. E.; Zemlianov, A. A.; Kopytin, Iu. D.; Kuzikovskii, A. V.

The bulk of this book contains the results of investigations carried out at the Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, USSR Academy of Science with the participation of the authors. The microphysical and optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols are considered, taking into account light scattering by a single aerosol particle, light scattering by a system of particles, the scattering phase matrix, light scattering by clouds and fogs, light scattering by hazes, and scattering phase functions of polydispersed aerosols. Other topics studies are related to low-energy (subexplosive) effects of radiation on individual particles, the formation of clear zones in clouds and fogs due to the vaporization of droplets under regular regimes, self-action of a wave beam in a water aerosol under conditions of regular droplet vaporization, laser beam propagation through an explosively evaporating water-droplet aerosol, the propagation of high-power laser radiation through hazes, the ionization and optical breakdown in aerosol media, and laser monitoring of a turbid atmosphere using nonlinear effects.

Investigating the Spectral Dependence of Biomass Burning Aerosol Optical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odwuor, A.; Corr, C.; Pusede, S.

2016-12-01

Aerosol optical properties, such as light absorption and scattering, are important for understanding how aerosols affect the global radiation budget and for comparison with data gathered from remote sensing. It has been established that the optical properties of aerosols are wavelength dependent, although some remote sensing measurements do not consider this. Airborne measurements of these optical properties were used to calculate the absorption Angstrom exponent, a parameter that characterizes the wavelength dependence of light absorption by aerosols, and single scattering albedo, which measures the relative magnitude of light scattering to total extinction (scattering and absorption combined). Aerosols produced by biomass burning in Saskatchewan, Canada in July 2008 and a forest fire in Southern California, U.S. in June 2016 were included in this analysis. These wildfires were sampled by the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) and NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) missions, respectively. Aerosol absorption was measured using a particle soot photometer (PSAP) at 470, 532 and 660 nm. Scattering was measured using a 3-wavelength (450, 550 and 700 nm) nephelometer. Absorption Angstrom exponents were calculated at 470 and 660 nm and single scattering albedos were calculated at 450 and 550 nm. Results of this study indicate that disregarding the wavelength dependence of organic aerosol can understate the positive radiative forcing (warming) associated with aerosol absorption.

Preliminary Results from an Assimilation of TOMS Aerosol Observations Into the GOCART Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

daSilva, Arlindo; Weaver, Clark J.; Ginoux, Paul; Torres, Omar; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

At NASA Goddard we are developing a global aerosol data assimilation system that combines advances in remote sensing and modeling of atmospheric aerosols. The goal is to provide high resolution, 3-D aerosol distributions to the research community. Our first step is to develop a simple assimilation system for Saharan mineral aerosol. The Goddard Chemistry and Aerosol Radiation model (GOCART) provides accurate 3-D mineral aerosol size distributions that compare well with TOMS satellite observations. Surface, mobilization, wet and dry deposition, convective and long-range transport are all driven by assimilated fields from the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System, GEOS-DAS. Our version of GOCART transports sizes from.08-10 microns and only simulates Saharan dust. TOMS radiance observations in the ultra violet provide information on the mineral and carbonaceous aerosol fields. We use two main observables in this study: the TOMS aerosol index (AI) which is directly related to the ratio of the 340 and 380 radiances and the 380 radiance. These are sensitive to the aerosol optical thickness, the single scattering albedo and the height of the aerosol layer. The Goddard Aerosol Assimilation System (GAAS) uses the Data Assimilation Office's Physical-space Statistical Analysis System (PSAS) to combine TOMS observations and GOCART model first guess fields. At this initial phase we only assimilate observations into the the GOCART model over regions of Africa and the Atlantic where mineral aerosols dominant and carbonaceous aerosols are minimal, Our preliminary results during summer show that the assimilation with TOMS data modifies both the aerosol mass loading and the single scattering albedo. Assimilated aerosol fields will be compared with assimilated aerosol fields from GOCART and AERONET observations over Cape Verde.

Evaluation of Daytime Measurements of Aerosols and Water Vapor made by an Operational Raman Lidar over the Southern Great Plains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, Richard; Turner, David; Clayton, Marian; Schmid, Beat; Covert, David; Elleman, Robert; Orgren, John; Andrews, Elisabeth; Goldsmith, John E. M.; Jonsson, Hafidi

2006-01-01

Raman lidar water vapor and aerosol extinction profiles acquired during the daytime over the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in northern Oklahoma (36.606 N, 97.50 W, 315 m) are evaluated using profiles measured by in situ and remote sensing instruments deployed during the May 2003 Aerosol Intensive Operations Period (IOP). The automated algorithms used to derive these profiles from the Raman lidar data were first modified to reduce the adverse effects associated with a general loss of sensitivity of the Raman lidar since early 2002. The Raman lidar water vapor measurements, which are calibrated to match precipitable water vapor (PWV) derived from coincident microwave radiometer (MWR) measurements were, on average, 5-10% (0.3-0.6 g/m(exp 3) higher than the other measurements. Some of this difference is due to out-of-date line parameters that were subsequently updated in the MWR PWV retrievals. The Raman lidar aerosol extinction measurements were, on average, about 0.03 km(exp -1) higher than aerosol measurements derived from airborne Sun photometer measurements of aerosol optical thickness and in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption. This bias, which was about 50% of the mean aerosol extinction measured during this IOP, decreased to about 10% when aerosol extinction comparisons were restricted to aerosol extinction values larger than 0.15 km(exp -1). The lidar measurements of the aerosol extinction/backscatter ratio and airborne Sun photometer measurements of the aerosol optical thickness were used along with in situ measurements of the aerosol size distribution to retrieve estimates of the aerosol single scattering albedo (omega(sub o)) and the effective complex refractive index. Retrieved values of omega(sub o) ranged from (0.91-0.98) and were in generally good agreement with omega(sub o) derived from airborne in situ measurements of scattering and absorption. Elevated aerosol

Airborne DIAL Ozone and Aerosol Trends Observed at High Latitudes Over North America from February to May 2000

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hair, Jonathan W.; Browell, Edward V.; Butler, Carolyn F.; Grant, William B.; DeYoung, Russell J.; Fenn, Marta A.; Brackett, Vince G.; Clayton, Marian B.; Brasseur, Lorraine

2002-01-01

Ozone (O3) and aerosol scattering ratio profiles were obtained from airborne lidar measurements on thirty-eight aircraft flights over seven aircraft deployments covering the latitudes of 40 deg.-85 deg.N between 4 February and 23 May 2000 as part of the TOPSE (Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox) field experiment. The remote and in situ O3 measurements were used together to produce a vertically-continuous O3 profile from near the surface to above the tropopause. Ozone, aerosol, and potential vorticity (PV) distributions were used together to identify the presence of pollution plumes and stratospheric intrusions. The number of observed pollution plumes was found to increase into the spring along with a significant increase in aerosol loading. Ozone was found to increase in the middle free troposphere (4-6 km) at high latitudes (60 deg.-85 deg. N) by an average of 4.3 ppbv/mo from about 55 ppbv in early February to over 72 ppbv in mid-May. The average aerosol scattering ratios in the same region increased at an average rate of 0.37/mo from about 0.35 to over 1.7. Ozone and aerosol scattering were highly correlated over entire field experiment. Based on the above results and the observed aircraft in-situ measurements, it was estimated that stratospherically-derived O3 accounted for less than 20% of the observed increase in mid tropospheric O3 at high latitudes. The primary cause of the observed O3 increase was found to be the photochemical production of O3 in pollution plumes.

Development of dual-wavelength Mie polarization Raman lidar for aerosol and cloud vertical structure probing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhenzhu; Liu, Dong; Wang, Yingjian; Wang, Bangxin; Zhong, Zhiqing; Xie, Chenbo; Wu, Decheng; Bo, Guangyu; Shao, Jie

2014-11-01

A Dual-wavelength Mie Polarization Raman Lidar has been developed for cloud and aerosol optical properties measurement. This idar system has built in Hefei and passed the performance assessment in 2012, and then moved to Jinhua city to carry out the long-term continuous measurements of vertical distribution of regional cloud and aerosol. A double wavelengths (532 and 1064 nm) Nd-YAG laser is employed as emitting source and four channels are used for detecting back-scattering signals from atmosphere aerosol and cloud including 1064 nm Mie, 607 nm N2 Raman, two 532 nm Orthogonal Polarization channels. The temporal and spatial resolutions for this system, which is operating with a continuing mode (24/7) automatically, are 30s and 7.5m, respectively. The measured data are used for investigating the aerosol and cloud vertical structure and cloud phase from combining of cloud signal intensity, polarization ratio and color ratio.

Retrieval of water vapor column abundance and aerosol properties from ChemCam passive sky spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

McConnochie, Timothy H.; Smith, Michael D.; Wolff, Michael J.; ...

2017-11-03

In this work, we derive water vapor column abundances and aerosol properties from Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ChemCam passive mode observations of scattered sky light. This paper covers the methodology and initial results for water vapor and also provides preliminary results for aerosols. The data set presented here includes the results of 113 observations spanning from Mars Year 31 L s = 291° (March 30, 2013) to Mars Year 33 L s= 127° (March 24, 2016). Each ChemCam passive sky observation acquires spectra at two different elevation angles. We fit these spectra with a discrete-ordinates multiple scattering radiative transfer model,more » using the correlated-k approximation for gas absorption bands. The retrieval proceeds by first fitting the continuum of the ratio of the two elevation angles to solve for aerosol properties, and then fitting the continuum-removed ratio to solve for gas abundances. The final step of the retrieval makes use of the observed CO 2 absorptions and the known CO 2 abundance to correct the retrieved water vapor abundance for the effects of the vertical distribution of scattering aerosols and to derive an aerosol scale height parameter. Our water vapor results give water vapor column abundance with a precision of ±0.6 precipitable microns and systematic errors no larger than ±0.3 precipitable microns, assuming uniform vertical mixing. The ChemCam-retrieved water abundances show, with only a few exceptions, the same seasonal behavior and the same timing of seasonal minima and maxima as the TES, CRISM, and REMS-H data sets that we compare them to. However ChemCam-retrieved water abundances are generally lower than zonal and regional scale from-orbit water vapor data, while at the same time being significantly larger than pre-dawn REMS-H abundances. Pending further analysis of REMS-H volume mixing ratio uncertainties, the differences between ChemCam and REMS-H pre-dawn mixing ratios appear to be much too large to be explained by large

Retrieval of water vapor column abundance and aerosol properties from ChemCam passive sky spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McConnochie, Timothy H.; Smith, Michael D.; Wolff, Michael J.

In this work, we derive water vapor column abundances and aerosol properties from Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ChemCam passive mode observations of scattered sky light. This paper covers the methodology and initial results for water vapor and also provides preliminary results for aerosols. The data set presented here includes the results of 113 observations spanning from Mars Year 31 L s = 291° (March 30, 2013) to Mars Year 33 L s= 127° (March 24, 2016). Each ChemCam passive sky observation acquires spectra at two different elevation angles. We fit these spectra with a discrete-ordinates multiple scattering radiative transfer model,more » using the correlated-k approximation for gas absorption bands. The retrieval proceeds by first fitting the continuum of the ratio of the two elevation angles to solve for aerosol properties, and then fitting the continuum-removed ratio to solve for gas abundances. The final step of the retrieval makes use of the observed CO 2 absorptions and the known CO 2 abundance to correct the retrieved water vapor abundance for the effects of the vertical distribution of scattering aerosols and to derive an aerosol scale height parameter. Our water vapor results give water vapor column abundance with a precision of ±0.6 precipitable microns and systematic errors no larger than ±0.3 precipitable microns, assuming uniform vertical mixing. The ChemCam-retrieved water abundances show, with only a few exceptions, the same seasonal behavior and the same timing of seasonal minima and maxima as the TES, CRISM, and REMS-H data sets that we compare them to. However ChemCam-retrieved water abundances are generally lower than zonal and regional scale from-orbit water vapor data, while at the same time being significantly larger than pre-dawn REMS-H abundances. Pending further analysis of REMS-H volume mixing ratio uncertainties, the differences between ChemCam and REMS-H pre-dawn mixing ratios appear to be much too large to be explained by large

Global Assessment of OMI Aerosol Single-scattering Albedo Using Ground-based AERONET and SKYNET Inversions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jethva, Hiren; Torres, Omar; Ahn, Changwoo

2014-01-01

We compare the aerosol single-scattering albedo (SSA) retrieved by the near-UV two-channel algorithm (OMAERUV) applied to the Aura-Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements with an equivalent inversion made by the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). This work is the first comprehensive effort to globally compare the OMI-retrieved SSA with that of AERONET using all available sites spanning the regions of biomass burning, dust, and urban pollution. An analysis of the co-located retrievals over 269 sites reveals that about 46 percent (69 percent) of OMI-AERONET matchups agree within the absolute difference of plus or minus 0.03 (plus or minus 0.05) for all aerosol types. The comparison improves to 52 percent (77 percent) when only 'smoke' and 'dust' aerosol types were identified by the OMAERUV algorithm. Regionally, the agreement between the two inversions was robust over the biomass burning sites of South America, Sahel, Indian subcontinent, and oceanic-coastal sites followed by a reasonable agreement over north-east Asia. Over the desert regions, OMI tends to retrieve higher SSA, particularly over the Arabian Peninsula. Globally, the OMI-AERONET matchups agree mostly within plus or minus 0.03 for the aerosol optical depth (440 nanometers) and UV-aerosol index larger than 0.4 and 1.0, respectively. We also compare the OMAERUV SSA against the inversion made by an independent network of ground-based radiometer called SKYNET with its operating sites in Japan, China, South-East Asia, India, and Europe. The advantage of the SKYNET database over AERONET is that it performs retrieval at near-UV wavelengths which facilitate the direct comparison of OMI retrievals with the equivalent ground-based inversion. Comparison of OMI and SKYNET over currently available sites reveals a good agreement between the two where more than 70 percent of matchups agree within the absolute difference of 0.05.

In Situ Aerosol Detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vakhtin, Andrei; Krasnoperov, Lev

2011-01-01

An affordable technology designed to facilitate extensive global atmospheric aerosol measurements has been developed. This lightweight instrument is compatible with newly developed platforms such as tethered balloons, blimps, kites, and even disposable instruments such as dropsondes. This technology is based on detection of light scattered by aerosol particles where an optical layout is used to enhance the performance of the laboratory prototype instrument, which allows detection of smaller aerosol particles and improves the accuracy of aerosol particle size measurement. It has been determined that using focused illumination geometry without any apertures is advantageous over using the originally proposed collimated beam/slit geometry (that is supposed to produce uniform illumination over the beam cross-section). The illumination source is used more efficiently, which allows detection of smaller aerosol particles. Second, the obtained integral scattered light intensity measured for the particle can be corrected for the beam intensity profile inhomogeneity based on the measured beam intensity profile and measured particle location. The particle location (coordinates) in the illuminated sample volume is determined based on the information contained in the image frame. The procedure considerably improves the accuracy of determination of the aerosol particle size.

Sensitivity metric approach for retrieval of aerosol properties from multiangular and multispectral polarized radiances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miecznik, Grzegorz; Illing, Rainer; Petroy, Shelley; Sokolik, Irina N.

2005-07-01

Linearly polarized radiation is sensitive to the microphysical properties of aerosols, namely, to the particle- size distribution and refractive index. The discriminating power of polarized radiation increases strongly with the increasing range of scattering angles and the addition of multiple wavelengths. The polarization and directionality of the Earth's reflectances (POLDER) missions demonstrate that some aerosol properties can be successfully derived from spaceborne polarimetric, multiangular measurements at two visible wavelengths. We extend the concept to analyze the retrieval capabilities of a spaceborne instrument with six polarimetric channels at 412, 445, 555, 865, 1250, and 2250 nm, measuring approximately 100 scattering angles covering a range between 50 and 150 deg. Our focus is development of an analysis methodology that can help quantify the benefits of such multiangular and multispectral polarimetric measurements. To that goal we employ a sensitivity metric approach in a framework of the principal-component analysis. The radiances and noise used to construct the sensitivity metric are calculated with the realistic solar flux for representative orbital viewing geometries, accounting for surface reflection from the ground, and statistical and calibration errors of a notional instrument. Spherical aerosol particles covering a range of representative microphysical properties (effective radius, effective variance, real and imaginary parts of the refractive index, single-scattering albedo) are considered in the calculations. We find that there is a limiting threshold for the effective size (approximately 0.7 μm), below which the weak scattering intensity results in a decreased signal-to-noise ratio and minimal polarization sensitivity, precluding reliable aerosol retrievals. For such small particles, close to the Rayleigh scattering limit, the total intensity provides a much stronger aerosol signature than the linear polarization, inspiring retrieval

Influences of external vs. core-shell mixing on aerosol optical properties at various relative humidities.

PubMed

Ramachandran, S; Srivastava, Rohit

2013-05-01

Aerosol optical properties of external and core-shell mixtures of aerosol species present in the atmosphere are calculated in this study for different relative humidities. Core-shell Mie calculations are performed using the values of radii, refractive indices and densities of aerosol species that act as core and shell, and the core-shell radius ratio. The single scattering albedo (SSA) is higher when the absorbing species (black carbon, BC) is the core, while for a sulfate core SSA does not vary significantly as the BC in the shell dominates the absorption. Absorption gets enhanced in core-shell mixing of absorbing and scattering aerosols when compared to their external mixture. Thus, SSA is significantly lower for a core-shell mixture than their external mixture. SSA is more sensitive to core-shell ratio than mode radius when BC is the core. The extinction coefficient, SSA and asymmetry parameter are higher for external mixing when compared to BC (core)-water soluble aerosol (shell), and water soluble aerosol (core)-BC (shell) mixtures in the relative humidity range of 0 to 90%. Spectral SSA exhibits the behaviour of the species which acts as a shell in core-shell mixing. The asymmetry parameter for an external mixture of water soluble aerosol and BC is higher than BC (core)-water soluble aerosol (shell) mixing and increases as function of relative humidity. The asymmetry parameter for the water soluble aerosol (core)-BC (shell) is independent of relative humidity as BC is hydrophobic. The asymmetry parameter of the core-shell mixture decreases when BC aerosols are involved in mixing, as the asymmetry parameter of BC is lower. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) of core-shell mixtures increases at a higher rate when the relative humidity exceeds 70% in continental clean and urban aerosol models, whereas AOD remains the same when the relative humidity exceeds 50% in maritime aerosol models. The SSA for continental aerosols varies for core-shell mixing of water soluble

Application of AERONET Single Scattering Albedo and Absorption Angstrom Exponent to Classify Dominant Aerosol Types during DRAGON Campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, D. M.; Holben, B. N.; Eck, T. F.; Schafer, J.; Crawford, J. H.; Kim, J.; Sano, I.; Liew, S.; Salinas Cortijo, S. V.; Chew, B. N.; Lim, H.; Smirnov, A.; Sorokin, M.; Kenny, P.; Slutsker, I.

2013-12-01

Aerosols can have major implications on human health by inducing respiratory diseases due to inhalation of fine particles from biomass burning smoke or industrial pollution and on radiative forcing whereby the presence of absorbing aerosol particles (e.g., black carbon) increases atmospheric heating. Aerosol classification techniques have utilized aerosol loading and aerosol properties derived from multi-spectral and multi-angle observations by ground-based (e.g., AERONET) and satellite instrumentation (e.g., MISR). Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data have been utilized to determine aerosol types by implementing various combinations of measured aerosol optical depth or retrieved size and absorption aerosol properties (e.g., Gobbi et al., 2007; Russell et al., 2010). Giles et al. [2012] showed single scattering albedo (SSA) relationship with extinction Angstrom exponent (EAE) can provide an estimate of the general classification of dominant aerosol types (i.e., desert dust, urban/industrial pollution, biomass burning smoke, and mixtures) based on data from ~20 AERONET sites located in known aerosol source regions. In addition, the absorption Angstrom exponent relationship with EAE can provide an indication of the dominant absorbing aerosol type such as dust, black carbon, brown carbon, or mixtures of them. These classification techniques are applied to the AERONET Level 2.0 quality assured data sets collected during Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observational Network (DRAGON) campaigns in Maryland (USA), Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Penang (Malaysia), and California (USA). An analysis of aerosol type classification for DRAGON sites is performed as well as an assessment of the spatial variability of the aerosol types for selected DRAGON campaigns. Giles, D. M., B. N. Holben, T. F. Eck, A. Sinyuk, A. Smirnov, I. Slutsker, R. R. Dickerson, A. M. Thompson, and J. S. Schafer (2012), An analysis of AERONET aerosol absorption properties and classifications

Aerosol Optical Properties in Southeast Asia From AERONET Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eck, T. F.; Holben, B. N.; Boonjawat, J.; Le, H. V.; Schafer, J. S.; Reid, J. S.; Dubovik, O.; Smirnov, A.

2003-12-01

There is little published data available on measured optical properties of aerosols in the Southeast Asian region. The AERONET project and collaborators commenced monitoring of aerosol optical properties in February 2003 at four sites in Thailand and two sites in Viet Nam to measure the primarily anthropogenic aerosols generated by biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion/ industrial emissions. Automatic sun/sky radiometers at each site measured spectral aerosol optical depth in 7 wavelengths from 340 to 1020 nm and combined with directional radiances in the almucantar, retrievals were made of spectral single scattering albedo and aerosol size distributions. Angstrom exponents, size distributions and spectral single scattering albedo of primarily biomass burning aerosols at rural sites are compared to measurements made at AERONET sites in other major biomass burning regions in tropical southern Africa, South America, and in boreal forest regions. Additionally, the aerosol single scattering albedo and size distributions measured in Bangkok, Thailand are compared with those measured at other urban sites globally. The influences of aerosols originating from other regions outside of Southeast Asia are analyzed using trajectory analyses. Specifically, cases of aerosol transport and mixing from Southern China and from India are presented.

Effects of morphology on the radiative properties of internally mixed light absorbing carbon aerosols with different aging status.

PubMed

Cheng, Tianhai; Wu, Yu; Chen, Hao

2014-06-30

Light absorbing carbon aerosols play a substantial role in climate change through radiative forcing, which is the dominant absorber of solar radiation. Radiative properties of light absorbing carbon aerosols are strongly dependent on the morphological factors and the mixing mechanism of black carbon with other aerosol components. This study focuses on the morphological effects on the optical properties of internally mixed light absorbing carbon aerosols using the numerically exact superposition T-matrix method. Three types aerosols with different aging status such as freshly emitted BC particles, thinly coated light absorbing carbon aerosols, heavily coated light absorbing carbon aerosols are studied. Our study showed that morphological factors change with the aging of internally mixed light absorbing carbon aerosols to result in a dramatic change in their optical properties. The absorption properties of light absorbing carbon aerosols can be enhanced approximately a factor of 2 at 0.67 um, and these enhancements depend on the morphological factors. A larger shell/core diameter ratio of volume-equivalent shell-core spheres (S/C), which indicates the degree of coating, leads to stronger absorption. The enhancement of absorption properties accompanies a greater enhancement of scattering properties, which is reflected in an increase in single scattering albedo (SSA). The enhancement of single scattering albedo due to the morphological effects can reach a factor of 3.75 at 0.67 μm. The asymmetry parameter has a similar yet smaller enhancement. Moreover, the corresponding optical properties of shell-and-core model determined by using Lorenz -Mie solutions are presented for comparison. We found that the optical properties of internally mixed light absorbing carbon aerosol can differ fundamentally from those calculated for the Mie theory shell-and-core model, particularly for thinly coated light absorbing carbon aerosols. Our studies indicate that the complex morphology

The physico-chemical evolution of atmospheric aerosols and the gas-particle partitioning of inorganic aerosol during KORUS-AQ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, T.; Park, T.; Lee, J. B.; Lim, Y. J.; Ahn, J.; Park, J. S.; Soo, C. J.; Desyaterik, Y.; Collett, J. L., Jr.

2017-12-01

Aerosols influence climate change directly by scattering and absorption and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and some of the effects of aerosols are reduction in visibility, deterioration of human health, and deposition of pollutants to ecosystems. Urban area is large source of aerosols and aerosol precursors. Aerosol sources are both local and from long-range transport. Long-range transport processed aerosol are often dominant sources of aerosol pollution in Korea. To improve our knowledge of aerosol chemistry, Korea and U.S-Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) of Aircraft-based aerosol measurement took place in and around Seoul, Korea during May and June 2016. KORUS-AQ campaigns were conducted to study the chemical characterization and processes of pollutants in the Seoul Metropolitan area to regional scales of Korean peninsula. Aerodyne High Resolution Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was deployed on aircraft platforms on-board DC-8 (NASA) aircraft. We characterized aerosol chemical properties and mass concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium and organics in polluted air plumes and investigate the spatial and vertical distribution of the species. The results of studies show that organics is predominant in Aerosol and a significant fraction of the organics is oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) at the high altitude. Both Nitrate and sulfate can partition between the gas and particle phases. The ratios for HNO3/(N(V) (=gaseous HNO3 + particulate Nitrate) and SO2/(SO2+Sulfate) were found to exhibit quite different distributions between the particles and gas phase for the locations during KORUS-AQ campaign, representing potential for formation of additional particulate nitrate and sulfate. The results of those studies can provide highly resolved temporal and spatial air pollutant, which are valuable for air quality model input parameters for aerosol behaviour.

Aerosol Composition and Variability in Baltimore Measured during DISCOVER-AQ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beyersdorf, A. J.; Ziemba, L. D.; Chen, G.; Thornhill, K. L.; Winstead, E. L.; Diskin, G. S.; Chatfield, R. B.; Natraj, V.; Anderson, B. E.

2012-12-01

In order to relate satellite-based measurements of aerosols to ground-level air quality, the correlation between aerosol optical properties (wavelength-dependent scattering and absorption measured by satellites) and mass measurements of aerosol loading (i.e. PM2.5 used for air quality monitoring) must be understood. This connection varies with many factors including those specific to the aerosol type (such as composition, size, hygroscopicity, and mass scattering and absorption efficiencies) and to the surrounding atmosphere (such as temperature, relative humidity and altitude). The DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface conditions from COlumn and VERtically resolved observations relevant to Air Quality) project was designed to provide a unique dataset for determining variability in and correlations between aerosol loading, composition, optical properties and meteorological conditions. Extensive in-situ profiling of the lower atmosphere in the Baltimore-Washington D.C. region was performed during fourteen flights during July 2011. Identical flight plans and profile locations throughout the campaign provide meaningful statistics for analysis. Measured aerosol mass was composed primarily of ammonium sulfate (campaign average of 36%) and water-soluble organics (58%). A distinct difference in composition was related to aerosol loading with high-loading days having a proportionally larger percentage of ammonium sulfate (up to 60%). This composition shift causes a change in the water-uptake potential (hygroscopicity) of the aerosols with higher relative organic composition decreasing water-uptake. On average, sulfate mass increased during the day due to increased photochemistry, while organics decreased. Analysis of the linkage between aerosol loading and optical properties was also performed. The absorption by black carbon was dependent on the amount of organic coating with an increase in mass absorption efficiency from 7.5 m2/g for bare soot to 16 m2/g at an

Lidar Ratios for Dust Aerosols Derived From Retrievals of CALIPSO Visible Extinction Profiles Constrained by Optical Depths from MODIS-Aqua and CALIPSO/CloudSat Ocean Surface Reflectance Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Stuart A.; Josset, Damien B.; Vaughan, Mark A.

2010-01-01

CALIPSO's (Cloud Aerosol Lidar Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) analysis algorithms generally require the use of tabulated values of the lidar ratio in order to retrieve aerosol extinction and optical depth from measured profiles of attenuated backscatter. However, for any given time or location, the lidar ratio for a given aerosol type can differ from the tabulated value. To gain some insight as to the extent of the variability, we here calculate the lidar ratio for dust aerosols using aerosol optical depth constraints from two sources. Daytime measurements are constrained using Level 2, Collection 5, 550-nm aerosol optical depth measurements made over the ocean by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on board the Aqua satellite, which flies in formation with CALIPSO. We also retrieve lidar ratios from night-time profiles constrained by aerosol column optical depths obtained by analysis of CALIPSO and CloudSat backscatter signals from the ocean surface.

Aerosol impacts on visible light extinction in the atmosphere of Mexico City.

PubMed

Eidels-Dubovoi, Silvia

2002-03-27

Eleven diurnal aerosol visible light absorption and scattering patterns were obtained from measurements done with an aethalometer and an integrating nephelometer during 28 February-10 March 1997 at two different sites in the Mexico City basin. Both measurement sites, the Merced site affected by regional and urban-scale aerosol and the Pedregal site dominated by regional-scale aerosol, showed a variety of diurnal light absorption and scattering patterns. For the majority of the 11 studied days, the highest absorption peaks appeared in the early morning, 07.00-09.30 h while those of scattering appeared later, 09.30-11.00 h. The earlier absorption peaks could be attributed to the elevated elemental carbon vehicular emissions during the heavy traffic hours whereas the later scattering peaks could be attributed to secondary aerosols formed photochemically in the atmosphere. During the period examined, the Pedregal site exhibited on the average a lower aerosol scattering and a higher aerosol absorption contribution to the total aerosol visible light extinction and a better visibility than that of the Merced site. Hence, the impact of aerosol absorption on the visibility degradation due to aerosols was greater at the less hazy Pedregal site. The overall 11-day aerosol visibility average of 20.9 km found at La Merced site, was only 9.4 km lower than that of 30.3 km found at the Pedregal site. This small aerosol visibility difference, of the order of the standard deviation, led to the conclusion that besides the regional-scale aerosol impact, the urban-scale aerosol impact on aerosol visible light extinction is very similar at La Merced and Pedregal sites.

Retrieval of Aerosol Absorption Properties from Satellite Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres, Omar; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Jethva, H.; Ahn, Chang-Woo

2012-01-01

The Angstrom Absorption Exponent (AAE) is a parameter commonly used to characterize the wavelength-dependence of aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD). It is closely related to aerosol composition. Black carbon (BC) containing aerosols yield AAE values near unity whereas Organic carbon (OC) aerosol particles are associated with values larger than 2. Even larger AAE values have been reported for desert dust aerosol particles. Knowledge of spectral AAOD is necessary for the calculation of direct radiative forcing effect of aerosols and for inferring aerosol composition. We have developed a satellitebased method of determining the spectral AAOD of absorbing aerosols. The technique uses multi-spectral measurements of upwelling radiation from scenes where absorbing aerosols lie above clouds as indicated by the UV Aerosol Index. For those conditions, the satellite measurement can be explained, using an approximations of Beer's Law (BL), as the upwelling reflectance at the cloud top attenuated by the absorption effects of the overlying aerosol layer. The upwelling reflectance at the cloud-top in an aerosol-free atmospheric column is mainly a function of cloud optical depth (COD). In the proposed method of AAE derivation, the first step is determining COD which is retrieved using a previously developed color-ratio based approach. In the second step, corrections for molecular scattering effects are applied to both the observed ad the calculated cloud reflectance terms, and the spectral AAOD is then derived by an inversion of the BL approximation. The proposed technique will be discussed in detail and application results making use of OMI multi-spectral measurements in the UV-Vis. will be presented.

Retrievals of aerosol optical and microphysical properties from Imaging Polar Nephelometer scattering measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed Espinosa, W.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Dubovik, Oleg; Ziemba, Luke; Beyersdorf, Andreas; Orozco, Daniel; Schuster, Gregory; Lapyonok, Tatyana; Fuertes, David; Vanderlei Martins, J.

2017-03-01

A method for the retrieval of aerosol optical and microphysical properties from in situ light-scattering measurements is presented and the results are compared with existing measurement techniques. The Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol and Surface Properties (GRASP) is applied to airborne and laboratory measurements made by a novel polar nephelometer. This instrument, the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph), is capable of making high-accuracy field measurements of phase function and degree of linear polarization, at three visible wavelengths, over a wide angular range of 3 to 177°. The resulting retrieval produces particle size distributions (PSDs) that agree, within experimental error, with measurements made by commercial optical particle counters (OPCs). Additionally, the retrieved real part of the refractive index is generally found to be within the predicted error of 0.02 from the expected values for three species of humidified salt particles, with a refractive index that is well established. The airborne measurements used in this work were made aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) field campaign, and the inversion of this data represents the first aerosol retrievals of airborne polar nephelometer data. The results provide confidence in the real refractive index product, as well as in the retrieval's ability to accurately determine PSD, without assumptions about refractive index that are required by the majority of OPCs.

Scattering of electromagnetic waves from a half-space of randomly distributed discrete scatterers and polarized backscattering ratio law

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhu, P. Y.

1991-01-01

The effective-medium approximation is applied to investigate scattering from a half-space of randomly and densely distributed discrete scatterers. Starting from vector wave equations, an approximation, called effective-medium Born approximation, a particular way, treating Green's functions, and special coordinates, of which the origin is set at the field point, are used to calculate the bistatic- and back-scatterings. An analytic solution of backscattering with closed form is obtained and it shows a depolarization effect. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements in the cases of snow, multi- and first-year sea-ice. The root product ratio of polarization to depolarization in backscattering is equal to 8; this result constitutes a law about polarized scattering phenomena in the nature.

First measurement of electron temperature from signal ratios in a double-pass Thomson scattering system.

PubMed

Tojo, H; Ejiri, A; Hiratsuka, J; Yamaguchi, T; Takase, Y; Itami, K; Hatae, T

2012-02-01

This paper presents an experimental demonstration to determine electron temperature (T(e)) with unknown spectral sensitivity (transmissivity) in a Thomson scattering system. In this method, a double-pass scattering configuration is used and the scattered lights from each pass (with different scattering angles) are measured separately. T(e) can be determined from the ratio of the signal intensities without knowing a real chromatic dependence in the sensitivity. Note that the wavelength range for each spectral channel must be known. This method was applied to the TST-2 Thomson scattering system. As a result, T(e) measured from the ratio (T(e,r)) and T(e) measured from a standard method (T(e,s)) showed a good agreement with <∣T(e,r) - T(e,s)∣∕T(e,s)> = 7.3%.

Identifying Aerosol Type/Mixture from Aerosol Absorption Properties Using AERONET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giles, D. M.; Holben, B. N.; Eck, T. F.; Sinyuk, A.; Dickerson, R. R.; Thompson, A. M.; Slutsker, I.; Li, Z.; Tripathi, S. N.; Singh, R. P.;

Climatology and Characteristics of Aerosol Optical Properties in the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmeisser, Lauren; Ogren, John; Backman, John; Asmi, Eija; Andrews, Elisabeth; Jefferson, Anne; Bergin, Michael; Tunved, Peter; Sharma, Sangeeta; Starkweather, Sandra

2016-04-01

Within the Arctic, climate forcers like atmospheric aerosols are important contributors to the observed warming and environmental changes in the region. Quantifying the forcing by aerosols in the Arctic is especially difficult, given short aerosol lifetimes, annual variability in illumination and surface albedo, stratified atmospheric conditions, complex feedbacks, and long-range aerosol transport. However, in-situ surface measurements of Arctic aerosol optical properties can be used to constrain variability of light scattering and absorption, identify potential particle sources, and help evaluate the resulting forcing. Data from six WMO Global Atmosphere Watch stations are presented: Alert, Canada (ALT); Barrow, Alaska (BRW); Pallas, Finland (PAL); Summit, Greenland (SUM); Tiksi, Russia (TIK); and Zeppelin Mountain, Norway (ZEP). These sites contribute to the International Arctic System for Observing the Atmosphere (IASOA), which facilitates Arctic-wide data collection and analysis. Climatologies of aerosol optical properties from each station show differences in magnitude and variability of observed parameters. For example, most stations (ALT, BRW, SUM, TIK, ZEP) experience maximum scattering in winter/spring, while PAL exhibits maximum scattering in the summer. The observed range in scattering across these sites is large (almost an order of magnitude) - SUM has the lowest annual median scattering at 0.82 Mm-1 while BRW has the highest at 6.9 Mm-1. A closer look at systematic variability between optical properties at each station, as well as site back trajectories, suggest differences in aerosol processes, sources and transport. The development of consistent climatologies and additional analyses like the ones presented here can help provide a better understanding of trans-Arctic aerosol variability, which can be an asset for improving aerosol models in this unique and remote region.

SU-E-T-439: An Improved Formula of Scatter-To-Primary Ratio for Photon Dose Calculation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, T

2014-06-01

Purpose: Scatter-to-primary ratio (SPR) is an important dosimetric quantity that describes the contribution from the scatter photons in an external photon beam. The purpose of this study is to develop an improved analytical formula to describe SPR as a function of circular field size (r) and depth (d) using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Methods: MC simulation was performed for Mohan photon spectra (Co-60, 4, 6, 10, 15, 23 MV) using EGSNRC code. Point-spread scatter dose kernels in water are generated. The scatter-to-primary ratio (SPR) is also calculated using MC simulation as a function of field size for circular field sizemore » with radius r and depth d. The doses from forward scatter and backscatter photons are calculated using a convolution of the point-spread scatter dose kernel and by accounting for scatter photons contributing to dose before (z'd) reaching the depth of interest, d, where z' is the location of scatter photons, respectively. The depth dependence of the ratio of the forward scatter and backscatter doses is determined as a function of depth and field size. Results: We are able to improve the existing 3-parameter (a, w, d0) empirical formula for SPR by introducing depth dependence for one of the parameter d0, which becomes 0 for deeper depths. The depth dependence of d0 can be directly calculated as a ratio of backscatter-to-forward scatter doses for otherwise the same field and depth. With the improved empirical formula, we can fit SPR for all megavoltage photon beams to within 2%. Existing 3-parameter formula cannot fit SPR data for Co-60 to better than 3.1%. Conclusion: An improved empirical formula is developed to fit SPR for all megavoltage photon energies to within 2%.« less

Characterizing the Vertical Distribution of Aerosols Over the ARM SGP Site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richard Ferrare, Connor Flynn, David Turner

This project focused on: 1) evaluating the performance of the DOE ARM SGP Raman lidar system in measuring profiles of water vapor and aerosols, and 2) the use of the Raman lidar measurements of aerosol and water vapor profiles for assessing the vertical distribution of aerosols and water vapor simulated by global transport models and examining diurnal variability of aerosols and water vapor. The highest aerosol extinction was generally observed close to the surface during the nighttime just prior to sunrise. The high values of aerosol extinction are most likely associated with increased scattering by hygroscopic aerosols, since the correspondingmore » average relative humidity values were above 70%. After sunrise, relative humidity and aerosol extinction below 500 m decreased with the growth in the daytime convective boundary layer. The largest aerosol extinction for altitudes above 1 km occurred during the early afternoon most likely as a result of the increase in relative humidity. The water vapor mixing ratio profiles generally showed smaller variations with altitude between day and night. We also compared simultaneous measurements of relative humidity, aerosol extinction, and aerosol optical thickness derived from the ARM SGP Raman lidar and in situ instruments on board a small aircraft flown routinely over the ARM SGP site. In contrast, the differences between the CARL and IAP aerosol extinction measurements are considerably larger. Aerosol extinction derived from the IAP measurements is, on average, about 30-40% less than values derived from the Raman lidar. The reasons for this difference are not clear, but may be related to the corrections for supermicron scattering and relative humidity that were applied to the IAP data. The investigators on this project helped to set up a major field mission (2003 Aerosol IOP) over the DOE ARM SGP site. One of the goals of the mission was to further evaluate the aerosol and water vapor retrievals from this lidar system

Automated retrieval of cloud and aerosol properties from the ARM Raman lidar, part 1: feature detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thorsen, Tyler J.; Fu, Qiang; Newsom, Rob K.

A Feature detection and EXtinction retrieval (FEX) algorithm for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Raman lidar (RL) has been developed. Presented here is part 1 of the FEX algorithm: the detection of features including both clouds and aerosols. The approach of FEX is to use multiple quantities— scattering ratios derived using elastic and nitro-gen channel signals from two fields of view, the scattering ratio derived using only the elastic channel, and the total volume depolarization ratio— to identify features using range-dependent detection thresholds. FEX is designed to be context-sensitive with thresholds determined for each profile by calculating the expectedmore » clear-sky signal and noise. The use of multiple quantities pro-vides complementary depictions of cloud and aerosol locations and allows for consistency checks to improve the accuracy of the feature mask. The depolarization ratio is shown to be particularly effective at detecting optically-thin features containing non-spherical particles such as cirrus clouds. Improve-ments over the existing ARM RL cloud mask are shown. The performance of FEX is validated against a collocated micropulse lidar and observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite over the ARM Darwin, Australia site. While we focus on a specific lidar system, the FEX framework presented here is suitable for other Raman or high spectral resolution lidars.« less

Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richard A. Ferrare; David D. Turner

Project goals: (1) Use the routine surface and airborne measurements at the ARM SGP site, and the routine surface measurements at the NSA site, to continue our evaluations of model aerosol simulations; (2) Determine the degree to which the Raman lidar measurements of water vapor and aerosol scattering and extinction can be used to remotely characterize the aerosol humidification factor; (3) Use the high temporal resolution CARL data to examine how aerosol properties vary near clouds; and (4) Use the high temporal resolution CARL and Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) data to quantify entrainment in optically thin continental cumulus clouds.

On the shape of martian dust and water ice aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitman, K. M.; Wolff, M. J.; Clancy, R. T.; Clayton, G. C.

2000-10-01

Researchers have often calculated radiative properties of Martian aerosols using either Mie theory for homogeneous spheres or semi-empirical theories. Given that these atmospheric particles are randomly oriented, this approach seems fairly reasonable. However, the idea that randomly oriented nonspherical particles have scattering properties equivalent to even a select subset of spheres is demonstratably false} (Bohren and Huffman 1983; Bohren and Koh 1985, Appl. Optics, 24, 1023). Fortunately, recent computational developments now enable us to directly compute scattering properties for nonspherical particles. We have combined a numerical approach for axisymmetric particle shapes, i.e., cylinders, disks, spheroids (Waterman's T-Matrix approach as improved by Mishchenko and collaborators; cf., Mishchenko et al. 1997, JGR, 102, D14, 16,831), with a multiple-scattering radiative transfer algorithm to constrain the shape of water ice and dust aerosols. We utilize a two-stage iterative process. First, we empirically derive a scattering phase function for each aerosol component (starting with some ``guess'') from radiative transfer models of MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer Emission Phase Function (EPF) sequences (for details on this step, see Clancy et al., DPS 2000). Next, we perform a series of scattering calculations, adjusting our parameters to arrive at a ``best-fit'' theoretical phase function. In this presentation, we provide details on the second step in our analysis, including the derived phase functions (for several characteristic EPF sequences) as well as the particle properties of the best-fit theoretical models. We provide a sensitivity analysis for the EPF model-data comparisons in terms of perturbations in the particle properties (i.e., range of axial ratios, sizes, refractive indices, etc). This work is supported through NASA grant NAGS-9820 (MJW) and JPL contract no. 961471 (RTC).

Thermo-optical properties of residential coals and combustion aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pintér, Máté; Ajtai, Tibor; Kiss-Albert, Gergely; Kiss, Diána; Utry, Noémi; Janovszky, Patrik; Palásti, Dávid; Smausz, Tomi; Kohut, Attila; Hopp, Béla; Galbács, Gábor; Kukovecz, Ákos; Kónya, Zoltán; Szabó, Gábor; Bozóki, Zoltán

2018-04-01

In this study, we present the inherent optical properties of carbonaceous aerosols generated from various coals (hard through bituminous to lignite) and their correlation with the thermochemical and energetic properties of the bulk coal samples. The nanoablation method provided a unique opportunity for the comprehensive investigation of the generated particles under well controlled laboratory circumstances. First, the wavelength dependent radiative features (optical absorption and scattering) and the size distribution (SD) of the generated particulate matter were measured in-situ in aerosol phase using in-house developed and customised state-of-the-art instrumentation. We also investigated the morphology and microstructure of the generated particles using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Electron Diffraction (ED). The absorption spectra of the measured samples (quantified by Absorption Angström Exponent (AAE)) were observed to be distinctive. The correlation between the thermochemical features of bulk coal samples (fixed carbon (FC) to volatile matter (VM) ratio and calorific value (CV)) and the AAE of aerosol assembly were found to be (r2 = 0.97 and r2 = 0.97) respectively. Lignite was off the fitted curves in both cases most probably due to its high optically inactive volatile material content. Although more samples are necessary to be investigated to draw statistically relevant conclusion, the revealed correlation between CV and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) implies that climatic impact of coal combusted aerosol could depend on the thermal and energetic properties of the bulk material.

A survey of light-scattering techniques used in the remote monitoring of atmospheric aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deirmendjian, D.

1980-01-01

A critical survey of the literature on the use of light-scattering mechanisms in the remote monitoring of atmospheric aerosols, their geographical and spatial distribution, and temporal variations was undertaken to aid in the choice of future operational systems, both ground based and air or space borne. An evaluation, mainly qualitative and subjective, of various techniques and systems is carried out. No single system is found to be adequate for operational purposes. A combination of earth surface and space-borne systems based mainly on passive techniques involving solar radiation with active (lidar) systems to provide auxiliary or backup information is tentatively recommended.

Detection of Remarkably Low Isotopic Ratio of Iron in Anthropogenic Aerosols and Evaluation of its Contribution to the Surface Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurisu, M.; Iizuka, T.; Sakata, K.; Uematsu, M.; Takahashi, Y.

2015-12-01

It has been reported that phytoplankton growth in the High Nutrient-Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions is limited by dissolved iron (DFe) concentration (e.g., Martin and Fitzwater, 1988). Aerosol is known as one of the dominant sources of DFe to the ocean and classified into two origins such as anthropogenic and natural. A series of recent studies showed that Fe in anthropogenic aerosols is more soluble than that in natural aerosols (Takahashi et al., 2013) and has lower isotopic ratio (Mead et al., 2013). However, the difference between Fe isotopic ratio　(δ56Fe: [(56Fe/54Fe)sample/(56Fe/54Fe)IRMM-14]-1) of two origins reported in Mead et al. (2013) is not so large compared with the standard deviation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine Fe species and δ56Fe in anthropogenic aerosols more accurately and to evaluate its contribution to the ocean surface. Iron species were determined by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis, while δ56Fe in size-fractionated aerosols were measured by MC-ICP-MS (NEPTUNE Plus) after chemical separation using anion exchange resin. Dominant Fe species in the samples were, ferrihydrite, hematite, and biotite. It was also revealed that coarse particles contained a larger amount of biotite and that fine particles contained a larger amount of hematite, which suggested that anthropogenic aerosols were emitted during combustion processes. In addition, results of Fe isotopic ratio analysis suggested that δ56Fe of coarse particles were around +0.25‰, whereas that of fine particles were -0.5 ˜ -2‰, which was lower than the δ56Fe in anthropogenic aerosol by Mead et al. (2013). The size-fractionated sampling made it possible to determine the δ56Fe in anthropogenic aerosol. Soluble component in fine particles extracted by simulated rain water also showed much lower δ56Fe (δ56Fe = -3.9±0.12‰), suggesting that anthropogenic Fe has much lower isotopic ratio. The remarkably low δ56Fe may be caused by the

Information Content of Aerosol Retrievals in the Sunglint Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ottaviani, M.; Knobelspiesse, K.; Cairns, B.; Mishchenko, M.

2013-01-01

We exploit quantitative metrics to investigate the information content in retrievals of atmospheric aerosol parameters (with a focus on single-scattering albedo), contained in multi-angle and multi-spectral measurements with sufficient dynamical range in the sunglint region. The simulations are performed for two classes of maritime aerosols with optical and microphysical properties compiled from measurements of the Aerosol Robotic Network. The information content is assessed using the inverse formalism and is compared to that deriving from observations not affected by sunglint. We find that there indeed is additional information in measurements containing sunglint, not just for single-scattering albedo, but also for aerosol optical thickness and the complex refractive index of the fine aerosol size mode, although the amount of additional information varies with aerosol type.

Radiation Transfer in the Atmosphere: Scattering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishchenko, M.; Travis, L.; Lacis, Andrew A.

2014-01-01

Sunlight illuminating the Earth's atmosphere is scattered by gas molecules and suspended particles, giving rise to blue skies, white clouds, and optical displays such as rainbows and halos. By scattering and absorbing the shortwave solar radiation and the longwave radiation emitted by the underlying surface, cloud and aerosol particles strongly affect the radiation budget of the terrestrial climate system. As a consequence of the dependence of scattering characteristics on particle size, morphology, and composition, scattered light can be remarkably rich in information on particle properties and thus provides a sensitive tool for remote retrievals of macro- and microphysical parameters of clouds and aerosols.

Absorbing Aerosols Above Cloud: Detection, Quantitative Retrieval, and Radiative Forcing from Satellite-based Passive Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jethva, H.; Torres, O.; Remer, L. A.; Bhartia, P. K.

2012-12-01

Light absorbing particles such as carbonaceous aerosols generated from biomass burning activities and windblown dust particles can exert a net warming effect on climate; the strength of which depends on the absorption capacity of the particles and brightness of the underlying reflecting background. When advected over low-level bright clouds, these aerosols absorb the cloud reflected radiation from ultra-violet (UV) to shortwave-IR (SWIR) and makes cloud scene darker-a phenomenon commonly known as "cloud darkening". The apparent "darkening" effect can be seen by eyes in satellite images as well as quantitatively in the spectral reflectance measurements made by space borne sensors over regions where light absorbing carbonaceous and dust aerosols overlay low-level cloud decks. Theoretical radiative transfer simulations support the observational evidence, and further reveal that the strength of the cloud darkening and its spectral signature (or color ratio) between measurements at two wavelengths are a bi-function of aerosol and cloud optical thickness (AOT and COT); both are measures of the total amount of light extinction caused by aerosols and cloud, respectively. Here, we developed a retrieval technique, named as the "color ratio method" that uses the satellite measurements at two channels, one at shorter wavelength in the visible and one at longer wavelength in the shortwave-IR for the simultaneous retrieval of AOT and COT. The present technique requires assumptions on the aerosol single-scattering albedo and aerosol-cloud separation which are supplemented by the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and space borne CALIOP lidar measurements. The retrieval technique has been tested making use of the near-UV and visible reflectance observations made by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for distinct above-cloud smoke and dust aerosol events observed seasonally over the southeast and tropical Atlantic Ocean

A scattering methodology for droplet sizing of e-cigarette aerosols.

PubMed

Pratte, Pascal; Cosandey, Stéphane; Goujon-Ginglinger, Catherine

2016-10-01

Knowledge of the droplet size distribution of inhalable aerosols is important to predict aerosol deposition yield at various respiratory tract locations in human. Optical methodologies are usually preferred over the multi-stage cascade impactor for high-throughput measurements of aerosol particle/droplet size distributions. Evaluate the Laser Aerosol Spectrometer technology based on Polystyrene Sphere Latex (PSL) calibration curve applied for the experimental determination of droplet size distributions in the diameter range typical of commercial e-cigarette aerosols (147-1361 nm). This calibration procedure was tested for a TSI Laser Aerosol Spectrometer (LAS) operating at a wavelength of 633 nm and assessed against model di-ethyl-hexyl-sebacat (DEHS) droplets and e-cigarette aerosols. The PSL size response was measured, and intra- and between-day standard deviations calculated. DEHS droplet sizes were underestimated by 15-20% by the LAS when the PSL calibration curve was used; however, the intra- and between-day relative standard deviations were < 3%. This bias is attributed to the fact that the index of refraction of PSL calibrated particles is different in comparison to test aerosols. This 15-20% does not include the droplet evaporation component, which may reduce droplet size prior a measurement is performed. Aerosol concentration was measured accurately with a maximum uncertainty of 20%. Count median diameters and mass median aerodynamic diameters of selected e-cigarette aerosols ranged from 130-191 nm to 225-293 nm, respectively, similar to published values. The LAS instrument can be used to measure e-cigarette aerosol droplet size distributions with a bias underestimating the expected value by 15-20% when using a precise PSL calibration curve. Controlled variability of DEHS size measurements can be achieved with the LAS system; however, this method can only be applied to test aerosols having a refractive index close to that of PSL particles used

Direct Aerosol Forcing Uncertainty

DOE Data Explorer

Mccomiskey, Allison

2008-01-15

Understanding sources of uncertainty in aerosol direct radiative forcing (DRF), the difference in a given radiative flux component with and without aerosol, is essential to quantifying changes in Earth's radiation budget. We examine the uncertainty in DRF due to measurement uncertainty in the quantities on which it depends: aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, solar geometry, and surface albedo. Direct radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface as well as sensitivities, the changes in DRF in response to unit changes in individual aerosol or surface properties, are calculated at three locations representing distinct aerosol types and radiative environments. The uncertainty in DRF associated with a given property is computed as the product of the sensitivity and typical measurement uncertainty in the respective aerosol or surface property. Sensitivity and uncertainty values permit estimation of total uncertainty in calculated DRF and identification of properties that most limit accuracy in estimating forcing. Total uncertainties in modeled local diurnally averaged forcing range from 0.2 to 1.3 W m-2 (42 to 20%) depending on location (from tropical to polar sites), solar zenith angle, surface reflectance, aerosol type, and aerosol optical depth. The largest contributor to total uncertainty in DRF is usually single scattering albedo; however decreasing measurement uncertainties for any property would increase accuracy in DRF. Comparison of two radiative transfer models suggests the contribution of modeling error is small compared to the total uncertainty although comparable to uncertainty arising from some individual properties.

Scattering by Atmospheric Particles: From Aerosols to Clouds with the Point-Spread Function ... using Water, Milk, Plastic Cups, and a Laser Pointer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, A. B.

2015-12-01

Planetary atmospheres are made primarily of molecules, and their optical properties are well known. They scatter sunlight across the spectrum, but far more potently at shorter wavelengths. Consequently, they redden the Sun as it sets and, at the same time, endow the daytime sky with its characteristic blue hue. There are also microscopic atmospheric particulates that are equally omnipresent because small enough (up to ~10s of microns) to remain lofted for long periods of time. However, in contrast with molecules of the major gases, their concentrations are highly variable in space and time. Their optical properties are also far more interesting. These airborne particles are either solid---hence the word "aerosols"---or liquid, most notably in the form of cloud droplets. Needless to say that both aerosols and clouds have major impacts on the balance of the Earth's climate system. Harder to understand, but nonetheless true, is that their climate impacts are much harder to assess by Earth system modelers than those of greenhouse gases such as CO2. That makes them prime targets of study by multiple approaches, including ground- and space-based remote sensing. To characterize aerosols and clouds quantitatively by optical remote sensing methods, either passive (sunlight-based) or active (laser-based), we need predictive capability for the signals recorded by sensors, whether ground-based, airborne, or carried by satellites. This in turn draws on the physical theory of "radiative transfer" that describes how the light propagates and scatters in the molecular-and-particulate atmosphere. This is a challenge for remote sensing scientists. I will show why by simulating with simple means the point spread function or "PSF" of scattering particulate atmospheres with varying opacity, thus covering tabletop analogs of the pristine air, the background aerosol, all the way to optically thick cloudy airmasses. I will also show PSF measurements of real clouds over New Mexico and

Seasonal and spatial variability of the organic matter-to-organic carbon mass ratios in Chinese urban organic aerosols and a first report of high correlations between aerosol oxalic acid and zinc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, L.; Fu, T.-M.; Cao, J. J.; Lee, S. C.; Wang, G. H.; Ho, K. F.; Cheng, M.-C.; You, C.-F.; Wang, T. J.

2013-01-01

We calculated the organic matter to organic carbon mass ratios (OM/OC mass ratios) in PM2.5 collected from 14 Chinese cities during summer and winter of 2003 and analyzed the causes for their seasonal and spatial variability. The OM/OC mass ratios were calculated two ways. Using a mass balance method, the calculated OM/OC mass ratios averaged 1.92 ± 0.39 yr-round, with no significant seasonal or spatial variation. The second calculation was based on chemical species analyses of the organic compounds extracted from the PM2.5 samples using dichloromethane/methanol and water. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in summer was relatively high (1.75 ± 0.13) and spatially-invariant, due to vigorous photochemistry and secondary OA production throughout the country. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in winter (1.59 ± 0.18) was significantly lower than that in summer, with lower values in northern cities (1.51 ± 0.07) than in southern cities (1.65 ± 0.15). This likely reflects the wider usage of coal for heating purposes in northern China in winter, in contrast to the larger contributions from biofuel and biomass burning in southern China in winter. On average, organic matters constituted 36% and 34% of Chinese urban PM2.5 mass in summer and winter, respectively. We reported, for the first time, high correlations between Zn and oxalic acid in Chinese urban aerosols in summer. This is consistent with the formation of stable Zn oxalate complex in the aerosol phase previously proposed by Furukawa and Takahashi (2011). We found that many other dicarboxylic acids were also highly correlated with Zn in the summer Chinese urban aerosol samples, suggesting that they may also form stable organic complexes with Zn. Such formation may have profound implications for the atmospheric abundance and hygroscopic property of aerosol dicarboxylic acids.

Aerosol optical properties measurements by a CAPS single scattering albedo monitor: Comparisons between summer and winter in Beijing, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Tingting; Xu, Weiqi; Li, Jie; Freedman, Andrew; Zhao, Jian; Wang, Qingqing; Chen, Chen; Zhang, Yingjie; Wang, Zifa; Fu, Pingqing; Liu, Xingang; Sun, Yele

2017-02-01

Aerosol optical properties were measured in Beijing in summer and winter using a state-of-the-art cavity attenuated phase shift single scattering albedo monitor (CAPS PMssa) along with aerosol composition measurements by aerosol mass spectrometers and aethalometers. The SSA directly measured by the CAPS PMssa showed overall agreements with those derived from colocated measurements. However, substantial differences were observed during periods with low SSA values in both summer and winter, suggesting that interpretation of low SSA values needs to be cautious. The average (±σ) extinction coefficient (bext) and absorption coefficient (bap) were 336 (±343) Mm-1 and 44 (±41) Mm-1, respectively, during wintertime, which were approximately twice those observed in summer, while the average SSA was relatively similar, 0.86 (±0.06) and 0.85 (±0.04) in summer and winter, respectively. Further analysis showed that the variations in SSA can be approximately parameterized as a function of mass fraction of secondary particulate matter (fSPM), which is SSA = 0.74 + 0.19 × fSPM (fSPM > 0.3, r2 = 0.85). The contributions of aerosol species to extinction coefficients during the two seasons were also estimated. Our results showed that the light extinction was dominantly contributed by ammonium sulfate (30%) and secondary organic aerosol (22%) in summer, while organic aerosol was the largest contributor (51%) in winter. Consistently, SPM played the major role in visibility degradation in both seasons by contributing 70% of the total extinction.

Comparison of Aerosol Optical Properties and Water Vapor Among Ground and Airborne Lidars and Sun Photometers During TARFOX

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrare, R.; Ismail, S.; Browell, E.; Brackett, V.; Clayton, M.; Kooi, S.; Melfi, S. H.; Whiteman, D.; Schwemmer, G.; Evans, K.

2000-01-01

We compare aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) measurements derived from ground and airborne lidars and sun photometers during the Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment. Such comparisons are important to verify the consistency between various remote sensing measurements before employing them in any assessment of the impact of aerosols on the global radiation balance. Total scattering ratio and extinction profiles measured by the ground-based NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scanning Raman lidar system, which operated from Wallops Island, Virginia (37.86 deg N, 75.51 deg W); are compared with those measured by the Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) airborne lidar system aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft. Bias and root-mean-square differences indicate that these measurements generally agreed within about 10%. Aerosol extinction profiles and estimates of AOT are derived from both lidar measurements using a value for the aerosol extinction/backscattering ratio S(sub a) = 60 sr for the aerosol extinction/backscattering ratio, which was determined from the Raman lidar measurements. The lidar measurements of AOT are found to be generally within 25% of the AOT measured by the NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sun Photometer (AATS-6). However, during certain periods the lidar and Sun photometer measurements of AOT differed significantly, possibly because of variations in the aerosol physical characteristics (e.g., size, composition) which affect S(sub a). Estimates of PWV, derived from water vapor mixing ratio profiles measured by LASE, are within 5-10% of PWV derived from the airborne Sun photometer. Aerosol extinction profiles measured by both lidars show that aerosols were generally concentrated in the lowest 2-3 km.

Chemistry of Titan's Aerosols : Correlation of The C/n &C/h Ratios To Pressure and Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernard, J.-M.; Coll, P.; Raulin, F.

The gas present in Titan's atmosphere are forming organics aerosols under action of the solar radiations and of electrons from Saturn's magnetosphere. Many experimental simulations are been realised by irradiating N2/CH4 gas mixtures with different en- ergy sources in order to reproduce the chemistry of gas and particulate phases (Thomp- son et al, 1991; Mc Donald et al, 1994; de Vanssay et al, 1995; McKay, 1996; Coll et al, 1997, 1998a,b; and Refs. included). Until very recently, only one organics re- mains detected in Titan but not in laboratory simulation : C4N2. A full program of experimental research has been developed at LISA, which was able to provide a com- plete identification of a wide range of compounds, proposed to be present in Titan's atmosphere, including C4N2. The composition of aerosol on Titan is not known, due to its complexity. Especially its building molecules are difficult to identify. Only functional groups of analogues have been determined using spectroscopy and pyrolysis. However this chemical composi- tion is a key parameter for Cassini-Huygens experiments and atmospheric modeling : even the optical properties of aerosols are related to C/N and C/H ratios. We will present the results of the variation of C/N and C/H ratios according to the temperature and the pressure in Titan's atmosphere simulations. This data will allow to constraint photochemical models, in order for them to be more realistic. Then the comprehension of the mechanism of aerosols formation on Titan as function of altitude will be easier.

Linking Aerosol Optical Properties Between Laboratory, Field, and Model Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, S. M.; Pokhrel, R. P.; Foster, K. A.; Brown, H.; Liu, X.

2017-12-01

The optical properties of aerosol emissions from biomass burning have a significant impact on the Earth's radiative balance. Based on measurements made during the Fourth Fire Lab in Missoula Experiment, our group published a series of parameterizations that related optical properties (single scattering albedo and absorption due to brown carbon at multiple wavelengths) to the elemental to total carbon ratio of aerosols emitted from biomass burning. In this presentation, the ability of these parameterizations to simulate the optical properties of ambient aerosol is assessed using observations collected in 2017 from our mobile laboratory chasing wildfires in the Western United States. The ambient data includes measurements of multi-wavelength absorption, scattering, and extinction, size distribution, chemical composition, and volatility. In addition to testing the laboratory parameterizations, this combination of measurements allows us to assess the ability of core-shell Mie Theory to replicate observations and to assess the impact of brown carbon and mixing state on optical properties. Finally, both laboratory and ambient data are compared to the optical properties generated by a prominent climate model (Community Earth System Model (CESM) coupled with the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM 5)). The discrepancies between lab observations, ambient observations and model output will be discussed.

LIGHT SCATTERING FROM EXOPLANET OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zugger, M. E.; Kane, T. J.; Kasting, J. F.

2010-11-10

Orbital variation in reflected starlight from exoplanets could eventually be used to detect surface oceans. Exoplanets with rough surfaces, or dominated by atmospheric Rayleigh scattering, should reach peak brightness in full phase, orbital longitude (OL) = 180{sup 0}, whereas ocean planets with transparent atmospheres should reach peak brightness in crescent phase near OL = 30{sup 0}. Application of Fresnel theory to a planet with no atmosphere covered by a calm ocean predicts a peak polarization fraction of 1 at OL = 74{sup 0}; however, our model shows that clouds, wind-driven waves, aerosols, absorption, and Rayleigh scattering in the atmosphere andmore » within the water column dilute the polarization fraction and shift the peak to other OLs. Observing at longer wavelengths reduces the obfuscation of the water polarization signature by Rayleigh scattering but does not mitigate the other effects. Planets with thick Rayleigh scattering atmospheres reach peak polarization near OL = 90{sup 0}, but clouds and Lambertian surface scattering dilute and shift this peak to smaller OL. A shifted Rayleigh peak might be mistaken for a water signature unless data from multiple wavelength bands are available. Our calculations suggest that polarization alone may not positively identify the presence of an ocean under an Earth-like atmosphere; however, polarization adds another dimension which can be used, in combination with unpolarized orbital light curves and contrast ratios, to detect extrasolar oceans, atmospheric water aerosols, and water clouds. Additionally, the presence and direction of the polarization vector could be used to determine planet association with the star, and constrain orbit inclination.« less

Low hygroscopicity of ambient fresh carbonaceous aerosols from pyrotechnics smoke

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrico, Christian M.; Gomez, Samantha L.; Dubey, Manvendra K.; Aiken, Allison C.

2018-04-01

Pyrotechnics (fireworks) displays are common for many cultures worldwide, with Independence Day celebrations occurring annually on July 4th as the most notable in the U.S. Given an episodic nature, fireworks aerosol properties are poorly characterized. Here we report observations of optical properties of fresh smoke emissions from Independence Day fireworks smoke sampled at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico U.S.A. on 4-5 July 2016. Aerosol optical properties were measured with a photoacoustic extinctiometer (PAX, DMT, Inc., Model 870 nm) at low RH < 30% and a humidity controlled nephelometry system (Ecotech, Inc., 450 nm Aurora). 'Dry' light scattering coefficient (σsp) increased from background < 15 Mm-1 reaching 120 Mm-1 (450 nm) as a 2-min event peak, while the absorption coefficient increased from background of 0.5-4.4 Mm-1 (870 nm). The event peak occurred at 00:35 on 5 July 2016, ∼3 h after local fireworks events, and decreased to background by 04:00 on 5 July 2016, showing well mixed aerosol properties. A notable result is that the aerosol hygroscopic response, as characterized by the ratio of wet to dry light scattering or f(RH = 85%), declined to 1.02 at the peak fireworks influence from a background ∼1.7. Strong wavelength dependence of light scattering with Ångström exponent ∼2.2 throughout the event showed a size distribution dominated by sub-micrometer particles. Likewise, single scattering albedo at 870 nm remained constant throughout the event with ω = 0.86 ± 0.03, indicating light absorbing carbon, though not dominant, was mixed with organic carbon. Subsequent laboratory testing with ground-level sparklers showed that pyrotechnics smoke can generate a strong hygroscopic response, however. As confirmed with chemical analysis, the chemistry of the fireworks was key to defining the hygroscopic response. Sparkler smoke was dominated by salt species such as hygroscopic potassium chloride while it lacked the black powder explosives in

Insight into global trends in aerosol composition from 2005 to 2015 inferred from the OMI Ultraviolet Aerosol Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammer, Melanie S.; Martin, Randall V.; Li, Chi; Torres, Omar; Manning, Max; Boys, Brian L.

2018-06-01

Observations of aerosol scattering and absorption offer valuable information about aerosol composition. We apply a simulation of the Ultraviolet Aerosol Index (UVAI), a method of detecting aerosol absorption from satellite observations, to interpret UVAI values observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) from 2005 to 2015 to understand global trends in aerosol composition. We conduct our simulation using the vector radiative transfer model VLIDORT with aerosol fields from the global chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. We examine the 2005-2015 trends in individual aerosol species from GEOS-Chem and apply these trends to the UVAI simulation to calculate the change in simulated UVAI due to the trends in individual aerosol species. We find that global trends in the UVAI are largely explained by trends in absorption by mineral dust, absorption by brown carbon, and scattering by secondary inorganic aerosol. Trends in absorption by mineral dust dominate the simulated UVAI trends over North Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and Australia. The UVAI simulation resolves observed negative UVAI trends well over Australia, but underestimates positive UVAI trends over North Africa and Central Asia near the Aral Sea and underestimates negative UVAI trends over East Asia. We find evidence of an increasing dust source from the desiccating Aral Sea that may not be well represented by the current generation of models. Trends in absorption by brown carbon dominate the simulated UVAI trends over biomass burning regions. The UVAI simulation reproduces observed negative trends over central South America and West Africa, but underestimates observed UVAI trends over boreal forests. Trends in scattering by secondary inorganic aerosol dominate the simulated UVAI trends over the eastern United States and eastern India. The UVAI simulation slightly overestimates the observed positive UVAI trends over the eastern United States and underestimates the observed negative UVAI trends over

Estimated SAGE II ozone mixing ratios in early 1993 and comparisons with Stratospheric Photochemistry, Aerosols and Dynamic Expedition measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yue, G. K.; Veiga, R. E.; Poole, L. R.; Zawodny, J. M.; Proffitt, M. H.

1994-01-01

An empirical time-series model for estimating ozone mixing ratios based on Stratospheric Aerosols and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) monthly mean ozone data for the period October 1984 through June 1991 has been developed. The modeling results for ozone mixing ratios in the 10- to 30- km region in early months of 1993 are presented. In situ ozone profiles obtained by a dual-beam UV-absorption ozone photometer during the Stratospheric Photochemistry, Aerosols and Dynamics Expedition (SPADE) campaign, May 1-14, 1993, are compared with the model results. With the exception of two profiles at altitudes below 16 km, ozone mixing ratios derived by the model and measured by the ozone photometer are in relatively good agreement within their individual uncertainties. The identified discrepancies in the two profiles are discussed.

Investigating biomass burning aerosol morphology using a laser imaging nephelometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manfred, Katherine M.; Washenfelder, Rebecca A.; Wagner, Nicholas L.; Adler, Gabriela; Erdesz, Frank; Womack, Caroline C.; Lamb, Kara D.; Schwarz, Joshua P.; Franchin, Alessandro; Selimovic, Vanessa; Yokelson, Robert J.; Murphy, Daniel M.

2018-02-01

Particle morphology is an important parameter affecting aerosol optical properties that are relevant to climate and air quality, yet it is poorly constrained due to sparse in situ measurements. Biomass burning is a large source of aerosol that generates particles with different morphologies. Quantifying the optical contributions of non-spherical aerosol populations is critical for accurate radiative transfer models, and for correctly interpreting remote sensing data. We deployed a laser imaging nephelometer at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory to sample biomass burning aerosol from controlled fires during the FIREX intensive laboratory study. The laser imaging nephelometer measures the unpolarized scattering phase function of an aerosol ensemble using diode lasers at 375 and 405 nm. Scattered light from the bulk aerosol in the instrument is imaged onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) using a wide-angle field-of-view lens, which allows for measurements at 4-175° scattering angle with ˜ 0.5° angular resolution. Along with a suite of other instruments, the laser imaging nephelometer sampled fresh smoke emissions both directly and after removal of volatile components with a thermodenuder at 250 °C. The total integrated aerosol scattering signal agreed with both a cavity ring-down photoacoustic spectrometer system and a traditional integrating nephelometer within instrumental uncertainties. We compare the measured scattering phase functions at 405 nm to theoretical models for spherical (Mie) and fractal (Rayleigh-Debye-Gans) particle morphologies based on the size distribution reported by an optical particle counter. Results from representative fires demonstrate that particle morphology can vary dramatically for different fuel types. In some cases, the measured phase function cannot be described using Mie theory. This study demonstrates the capabilities of the laser imaging nephelometer instrument to provide realtime, in situ information about dominant particle

Fine Mode Aerosol over the United Arab Emirates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, K. E.; Piketh, S. J.; Reid, J. S.; Reid, E. A.

2005-12-01

The aerosol loading of the atmosphere over the Arabian Gulf region is extremely diverse and is composed not only of dust, but also of pollution that is derived largely from oil-related activities. Fine mode pollution particles are most efficient at scattering incoming solar radiation and have the potential to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and may therefore have implications for climate change. The smaller aerosols may also pose a health hazard if present in high concentrations. The United Arab Emirates Unified Aerosol Experiment (UAE2) was designed to investigate aerosol and meteorological characteristics over the region using ground-based, aircraft and satellite measurements, and was conducted in August and September 2004. Aerosol chemical composition has been obtained from filters that were collected at the site of the Mobile Atmospheric Aerosol and Radiation Characterization Observatory (MAARCO) on the coast of the UAE between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Filter samples were also collected on an airborne platform in order to assess how aerosol chemical composition varies across the region and throughout the depth of the boundary layer. Results of the analysis of the PM2.5 coastal samples show that ammonium sulphate is the most prevalent constituent of the fine mode aerosol in the region (>50% of the mass), followed by organic matter, alumino-silicates, calcium carbonate and black carbon. Source apportionment indicates that most of the fine aerosol mass is derived from fossil fuel combustion, while mineral dust and local vehicle emissions also contribute to the fine aerosol loading. The organic carbon-to-total carbon ratio of the aerosol is 0.65, which is typical of fossil fuel combustion. The dominance of sulphates means that the fine mode aerosol in the region is probably responsible for a negative radiative forcing, and that the polluting emissions significantly elevate the concentration of CCN.

Aerosol optical properties along the northeast coast of North America during the New England Air Quality Study-Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2004 campaign and the influence of aerosol composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wei; Rood, Mark J.; Carrico, Christian M.; Covert, David S.; Quinn, Patricia K.; Bates, Timothy S.

2007-05-01

Optical and hygroscopic properties of submicrometer diameter aerosol particles were measured on board the NOAA R/V Ronald H. Brown as part of the NEAQS-ITCT field campaign. The campaign occurred along the northeast coast of North America during the summer of 2004. A scanning relative humidity (RH) nephelometry system (humidograph) measured total light scattering and backscattering coefficients (σsp and σbsp, respectively) at three wavelengths (λs) and RH = 26% and while RH was scanned between 40% and 85%. These measurements were combined with aerosol light absorption and composition measurements to describe σsp, σbsp, single scattering albedo (ω), Ångström exponent (å), and hemispheric backscatter fraction (b) at a low reference RH of 26 ± 4% and the aerosol's hygroscopic properties based on its optical response up to 85% RH. Humidogram curve structure was dominated by hygroscopic growth without hysteresis (76% frequency). Dependence of the aerosol's σsp values with changes in RH, fσsp(RH, 26), was observed to decrease with increasing mass fraction of particulate organic matter (POM, FO). Statistical analyses indicated that increasing FO resulted in a less hygroscopic aerosol, while increasing molar equivalence ratio (ER) resulted in lower hysteresis factors based on the aerosols' optical responses at a 0.95 confidence level. ω showed little RH dependence while å and b decreased with increasing RH values. Values for å(λ1, λ2), b, and fσsp(82, 26) increased with increasing λ values. Sensitivities of top of the atmosphere aerosol radiative forcing to changes in ω, b, and σsp with RH were also estimated.

Influence of Humidity on the Aerosol Scattering Coefficient and Its Effect on the Upwelling Radiance During ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasso, B. S.; Hegg, D. A.; Covert, D. S.; Collins, D.; Noone, K.; Oestroem, E.; Schmid, B.; Russell, P. B.; Livingston, J. M.; Durkee, P. A.;

Influence of Humidity On the Aerosol Scattering Coefficient and Its Effect on the Upwelling Radiance During ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gasso, S.; Hegg, D. A.; Covert, D. S.; Collins, D.; Noone, K. J.; Oestroem, E.; Schmid, B.; Russell, P. B.; Livingston, J. M.; Durkee, P. A.

2000-01-01

Aerosol scattering coefficients (sigma(sub sp)) have been measured over the ocean at different relative humidities (RH) as a function of altitude in the region surrounding the Canary Islands during the Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) in June and July 1997. The data were collected by the University of Washington passive humidigraph (UWPH) mounted on the Pelican research aircraft. Concurrently, particle size distributions, absorption coefficients and aerosol optical depth were measured throughout 17 flights. A parameterization of sigma(sub sp) as a function of RH was utilized to assess the impact of aerosol hydration on the upwelling radiance (normalized to the solar constant and cosine of zenith angle). The top of the atmosphere radiance signal was simulated at wavelengths corresponding to visible and near-infrared bands of the EOS (Earth Observing System) AM-1 (Terra) detectors, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer). The UWPH measured sigma(sub sp) at two RHs, one below and the other above ambient conditions. Ambient sigma(sub sp) was obtained by interpolation of these two measurements. The data were stratified in terms of three types of aerosols: Saharan dust, clean marine (marine boundary layer background) and polluted marine aerosols (i.e., two- or one-day old polluted aerosols advected from Europe). An empirical relation for the dependence of sigma(sub sp) on RH, defined by sigma(sub sp)(RH) = k.(1 - RH/100)(sup gamma), was used with the hygroscopic exponent gamma derived from the data. The following gamma values were obtained for the 3 aerosol types: gamma(dust) = 0.23 +/- 0.05, gamma(clean marine) = 0.69 +/- 0.06 and gamma(polluted marine) = 0.57 +/- 0.06. Based on the measured gammas, the above equation was utilized to derive aerosol models with different hygroscopicities. The satellite simulation signal code 6S was used to compute the upwelling radiance corresponding to each

Assessment of aerosol's mass concentrations from measured linear particle depolarization ratio (vertically resolved) and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemuc, A.; Vasilescu, J.; Talianu, C.; Belegante, L.; Nicolae, D.

2013-11-01

Multi-wavelength depolarization Raman lidar measurements from Magurele, Romania are used in this study along with simulated mass-extinction efficiencies to calculate the mass concentration profiles of different atmospheric components, due to their different depolarization contribution to the 532 nm backscatter coefficient. Linear particle depolarization ratio (δpart) was computed using the relative amplification factor and the system-dependent molecular depolarization. The low depolarizing component was considered as urban/smoke, with a mean δpart of 3%, while for the high depolarizing component (mineral dust) a mean δpart of 35% was assumed. For this study 11 months of lidar measurements were analysed. Two study cases are presented in details: one for a typical Saharan dust aerosol intrusion, 10 June 2012 and one for 12 July 2012 when a lofted layer consisting of biomass burning smoke extended from 3 to 4.5 km height. Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds software package (OPAC) classification and conversion factors were used to calculate mass concentrations. We found that calibrated depolarization measurements are critical in distinguishing between smoke-reach aerosol during the winter and dust-reach aerosol during the summer, as well as between elevated aerosol layers having different origins. Good agreement was found between lidar retrievals and DREAM- Dust REgional Atmospheric Model forecasts in cases of Saharan dust. Our method was also compared against LIRIC (The Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code) and very small differences were observed.

Assessment of aerosol's mass concentrations from measured linear particle depolarization ratio (vertically resolved) and simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemuc, A.; Vasilescu, J.; Talianu, C.; Belegante, L.; Nicolae, D.

2013-06-01

Multiwavelength depolarization Raman lidar measurements from Magurele, Romania are used in this study along with simulated mass-extinction efficiencies to calculate the mass concentrations profiles of different atmospheric components, due to their different depolarization contribution to the 532 nm backscatter coefficient. Linear particle depolarization ratio (δpart) was computed using the relative amplification factor and the system-dependent molecular depolarization. The low depolarizing component was considered as urban/smoke, with a mean δpart of 3%, while for the high depolarizing component (mineral dust) a mean δpart of 35% was assumed. For this study 11 months of lidar measurements were analyzed. Two study cases are presented in details: one for a typical Saharan dust aerosol intrusion, 10 June 2012 and one for 12 July 2012 when a lofted layer consisting of biomass burning smoke extended from 3 to 4.5 km height. Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds software package (OPAC) classification and conversion factors were used to calculate mass concentrations. We found that calibrated depolarization measurements are critical to distinguish between smoke-reach aerosol during the winter and dust-reach aerosol during the summer, as well as between elevated aerosol layers having different origins. Good agreement was found between lidar retrievals and DREAM- Dust REgional Atmospheric Model forecasts in cases of Saharan dust. Our method was also compared against LIRIC (The Lidar/Radiometer Inversion Code) and very small differences were observed.

Long-term measurements of aerosols and carbon monoxide at the ZOTTO tall tower to characterize polluted and pristine air in the Siberian Taiga

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chi, X.; Winderlich, J.; Mayer, J.-C.; Panov, A. V.; Heimann, M.; Birmili, W.; Heintzenberg, J.; Cheng, Y.; Andreae, M. O.

2013-07-01

Siberia is one of few background regions in the Northern Hemisphere where the atmosphere may sometimes approach pristine conditions. We present the time series of aerosol and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements between September~2006 and December 2010 at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) in Central Siberia (61° N; 90° E). We investigate the seasonal, weekly and diurnal variations of aerosol properties (including absorption and scattering coefficients and derived parameters, like equivalent black carbon (BCe), Ångström exponent, single scattering albedo, and backscattering ratio) and the CO mixing ratios. Criteria were established to distinguish polluted and near-pristine air masses and characterize them separately. Depending on the season, 15-47% of the sampling time at ZOTTO was representative of a clean atmosphere. The summer pristine data indicates that primary biogenic and/or secondary organic aerosol formation are quite strong particle sources in the Siberian Taiga. The summer seasons 2007-2008 are dominated by an Aitken mode of 80 nm size, whereas the summer 2009 with prevailing easterly winds produced aerosols in the accumulation mode around 200 nm size. We found these differences mainly related to air temperature, in parallel with production rates of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC). In winter, the footprint and aerosol size distribution (with a peak at 160 nm) of the clean background air are characteristic for aged aerosols from anthropogenic sources at great distances from ZOTTO and diluted biofuel burning emissions from heating. The wintertime polluted air originates from the large cities to the south and southwest of the site; these aerosols have a dominant mode around 100 nm, and the Δ BCe/Δ CO ratio of 7-11 ng m-3 ppb-1 suggests dominant contributions from coal and biofuel burning for heating. During summer, anthropogenic emissions are the dominant contributor to the pollution aerosols at ZOTTO, while only 12% of the polluted

Determining the unique refractive index properties of solid polystyrene aerosol using broadband Mie scattering from optically trapped beads.

PubMed

Jones, Stephanie H; King, Martin D; Ward, Andrew D

2013-12-21

A method is described to measure the refractive index dispersion with wavelength of optically trapped solid particles in air. Knowledge of the refraction properties of solid particles is critical for the study of aerosol; both in the laboratory and in the atmosphere for climate studies. Single micron-sized polystyrene beads were optically trapped in air using a vertically aligned counter-propagating configuration of focussed laser beams. Each bead was illuminated using white light from a broadband light emitting diode (LED) and elastic scattering within the bead was collected onto a spectrograph. The resulting Mie spectra were analysed to accurately determine polystyrene bead radii to ±0.4 nm and values of the refractive index to ±0.0005 over a wavelength range of 480-700 nm. We demonstrate that optical trapping combined with elastic scattering can be used to both accurately size polystyrene beads suspended in air and determine their wavelength dependent refractive index. The refractive index dispersions are in close agreement with reported values for polystyrene beads in aqueous dispersion. Our results also demonstrate a variation in the refractive index of polystyrene, from bead to bead, in a commercial sample. The measured variation highlights that care must be taken when using polystyrene beads as a calibration aerosol.

Fully iterative scatter corrected digital breast tomosynthesis using GPU-based fast Monte Carlo simulation and composition ratio update

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Kyungsang; Ye, Jong Chul, E-mail: jong.ye@kaist.ac.kr; Lee, Taewon

2015-09-15

Purpose: In digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), scatter correction is highly desirable, as it improves image quality at low doses. Because the DBT detector panel is typically stationary during the source rotation, antiscatter grids are not generally compatible with DBT; thus, a software-based scatter correction is required. This work proposes a fully iterative scatter correction method that uses a novel fast Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) with a tissue-composition ratio estimation technique for DBT imaging. Methods: To apply MCS to scatter estimation, the material composition in each voxel should be known. To overcome the lack of prior accurate knowledge of tissue compositionmore » for DBT, a tissue-composition ratio is estimated based on the observation that the breast tissues are principally composed of adipose and glandular tissues. Using this approximation, the composition ratio can be estimated from the reconstructed attenuation coefficients, and the scatter distribution can then be estimated by MCS using the composition ratio. The scatter estimation and image reconstruction procedures can be performed iteratively until an acceptable accuracy is achieved. For practical use, (i) the authors have implemented a fast MCS using a graphics processing unit (GPU), (ii) the MCS is simplified to transport only x-rays in the energy range of 10–50 keV, modeling Rayleigh and Compton scattering and the photoelectric effect using the tissue-composition ratio of adipose and glandular tissues, and (iii) downsampling is used because the scatter distribution varies rather smoothly. Results: The authors have demonstrated that the proposed method can accurately estimate the scatter distribution, and that the contrast-to-noise ratio of the final reconstructed image is significantly improved. The authors validated the performance of the MCS by changing the tissue thickness, composition ratio, and x-ray energy. The authors confirmed that the tissue-composition ratio estimation was

Radiative transfer model for aerosols in infrared wavelengths for passive remote sensing applications.

PubMed

Ben-David, Avishai; Embury, Janon F; Davidson, Charles E

2006-09-10

A comprehensive analytical radiative transfer model for isothermal aerosols and vapors for passive infrared remote sensing applications (ground-based and airborne sensors) has been developed. The theoretical model illustrates the qualitative difference between an aerosol cloud and a chemical vapor cloud. The model is based on two and two/four stream approximations and includes thermal emission-absorption by the aerosols; scattering of diffused sky radiances incident from all sides on the aerosols (downwelling, upwelling, left, and right); and scattering of aerosol thermal emission. The model uses moderate resolution transmittance ambient atmospheric radiances as boundary conditions and provides analytical expressions for the information on the aerosol cloud that is contained in remote sensing measurements by using thermal contrasts between the aerosols and diffused sky radiances. Simulated measurements of a ground-based sensor viewing Bacillus subtilis var. niger bioaerosols and kaolin aerosols are given and discussed to illustrate the differences between a vapor-only model (i.e., only emission-absorption effects) and a complete model that adds aerosol scattering effects.

A wavelength-dispersive instrument for characterizing fluorescence and scattering spectra of individual aerosol particles on a substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, Donald R.; Swanson, Benjamin E.; Huffman, J. Alex

2016-08-01

We describe a novel, low-cost instrument to acquire both elastic and inelastic (fluorescent) scattering spectra from individual supermicron-size particles in a multi-particle collection on a microscope slide. The principle of the device is based on a slitless spectroscope that is often employed in astronomy to determine the spectra of individual stars in a star cluster but had not been applied to atmospheric particles. Under excitation, most commonly by either a 405 nm diode laser or a UV light-emitting diode (LED), fluorescence emission spectra of many individual particles can be determined simultaneously. The instrument can also acquire elastic scattering spectra from particles illuminated by a white-light source. The technique also provides the ability to detect and rapidly estimate the number fraction of fluorescent particles that could contaminate a collection of non-fluorescent material, even without analyzing full spectra. Advantages and disadvantages of using black-and-white cameras compared to color cameras are given. The primary motivation for this work has been to develop an inexpensive technique to characterize fluorescent biological aerosol particles, especially particles such as pollen and mold spores that can cause allergies. An example of an iPhone-enabled device is also shown as a means for collecting data on biological aerosols at lower cost or by utilizing citizen scientists for expanded data collection.

Spatial and temporal variations of aerosols around Beijing in summer 2006: 2. Local and column aerosol optical properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matsui, Hitoshi; Koike, Makoto; Kondo, Yutaka

Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-chem model calculations were conducted to study aerosol optical properties around Beijing, China, during the Campaign of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region 2006 (CAREBeijing-2006) period. In this paper, we interpret aerosol optical properties in terms of aerosol mass concentrations and their chemical compositions by linking model calculations with measurements. In general, model calculations reproduced observed features of spatial and temporal variations of various surface and column aerosol optical parameters in and around Beijing. Spatial and temporal variations of aerosol absorption, scattering, and extinction coefficient corresponded well to those of elemental carbon (primary aerosol),more » sulfate (secondary aerosol), and the total aerosol mass concentration, respectively. These results show that spatial and temporal variations of the absorption coefficient are controlled by local emissions (within 100 km around Beijing during the preceding 24 h), while those of the scattering coefficient are controlled by regional-scale emissions (within 500 km around Beijing during the preceding 3 days) under synoptic-scale meteorological conditions, as discussed in our previous study of aerosol mass concentration. Vertical profiles of aerosol extinction revealed that the contribution of secondary aerosols and their water uptake increased with altitude within the planetary boundary layer, leading to a considerable increase in column aerosol optical depth (AOD) around Beijing. These effects are the main factors causing differences in regional and temporal variations between particulate matter (PM) mass concentration at the surface and column AOD over a wide region in the northern part of the Great North China Plain.« less

Volcanic aerosol and ozone depletion within the Antarctic polar vortex during the austral spring of 1991

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deshler, T.; Adriani, A.; Gobbi, G.P.

1992-09-01

In the spring of 1991 the Antarctic lower stratosphere was characterized by a layer of volcanic aerosol from the Cerro Hudson eruption. This aerosol layer was observed from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, with both lidar and balloonborne particle counters beginning around 10 September. After 20 September the aerosol was observed daily between 9 and 13 km. In this layer homogeneous nucleation of new aerosol was observed with concentrations greater than 6000/cu cm. Comparisons of scattering ratio calculated from measured particle size distributions agree best with the lidar measurements when a real index of refraction near 1.5 is used. In the pastmore » 5 years of measurements, ozone below 13 km has been relatively unchanged during the annual Antartic ozone depletion; however, in 1991 ozone below 13 km decreased at a rate of 4 - 8 ppb/day over 30 days. This change began shortly after the appearance of the volcanic aerosol, providing direct measurements correlating volcanic aerosol and ozone depletion. 16 refs.« less

Long term measurements of the estimated hygroscopic enhancement of aerosol optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hervo, Maxime; Sellegri, Karine; Pichon, Jean Marc; Roger, Jean Claude; Laj, Paolo

2015-04-01

Water vapour has a major impact on aerosol optical properties, thus on the Radiative Forcing for aerosol-radiation interaction (RFari). However there is few studies measuring this impact over a large period. Optical properties of aerosols were measured at the GAW Puy de Dôme station (1465m) over a seven year period (2006-2012). The impact of hygroscopicity on aerosol optical properties was calculated over a two year period (2010-2011). The analysis of the spatial and temporal variability of the dry optical properties showed that while no long term trend was found, a clear seasonal and diurnal variation was observed on the extensive parameters (scattering, absorption). Scattering and absorption coefficients were highest during the warm season and daytime, in concordance with the seasonality and diurnal variation of the planetary boundary layer height reaching the site. Intensive parameters (single scattering albedo, asymmetry factor, refractive index) did not show such a strong diurnal variability, but still indicated different values depending on the season. Both extensive and intensive optical parameters were sensitive to the air mass origin. A strong impact of hygroscopicity on aerosol optical properties was calculated, mainly on aerosol scattering, with a dependence on the aerosol type and the season. At 90% humidity, the scattering factor enhancement (fsca) was more than 4.4 for oceanic aerosol that have mixed with a pollution plume. Consequently, the aerosol radiative forcing was estimated to be 2.8 times higher at RH= 90% and 1.75 times higher at ambient RH when hygroscopic growth of the aerosol was considered. The hygroscopicity enhancement factor of the scattering coefficient was parameterized as a function of humidity and air mass type. To our knowledge, these results are one of the first presenting the impact of water vapour on the aerosol optical properties for a long period, and the first for a site at the border between the planetary boundary layer

LASE Measurements of Water Vapor, Aerosol, and Cloud Distributions in Saharan Air Layers and Tropical Disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ismail, Syed; Ferrare, Richard A.; Browell, Edward V.; Kooi, Susan A.; Dunion, Jason P.; Heymsfield, Gerry; Notari, Anthony; Butler, Carolyn F.; Burton, Sharon; Fenn, Marta;

Atmospheric aerosol profiling with a bistatic imaging lidar system.

PubMed

Barnes, John E; Sharma, N C Parikh; Kaplan, Trevor B

2007-05-20

Atmospheric aerosols have been profiled using a simple, imaging, bistatic lidar system. A vertical laser beam is imaged onto a charge-coupled-device camera from the ground to the zenith with a wide-angle lens (CLidar). The altitudes are derived geometrically from the position of the camera and laser with submeter resolution near the ground. The system requires no overlap correction needed in monostatic lidar systems and needs a much smaller dynamic range. Nighttime measurements of both molecular and aerosol scattering were made at Mauna Loa Observatory. The CLidar aerosol total scatter compares very well with a nephelometer measuring at 10 m above the ground. The results build on earlier work that compared purely molecular scattered light to theory, and detail instrument improvements.

Aerosol-based detectors for liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Magnusson, Lars-Erik; Risley, Donald S; Koropchak, John A

2015-11-20

Aerosol-based detectors developed within the last few decades have increasingly addressed the need for sensitive, universal liquid chromatography detection in a wide variety of applications. Herein, we review the operating principles, instrumentation, analytical characteristics, and recent applications of the three general types of such detectors: evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD), condensation nucleation light scattering detection (CNLSD); commercially known as the nano-quantity analyte detector (NQAD), and charged aerosol detection (CAD). Included is a comparative evaluation of the operational and analytical characteristics of these detectors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seasonal aerosol characteristics in the Amazon rain forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baars, H.; Althausen, D.; Ansmann, A.; Engelmann, R.; Heese, B.; Müller, D.; Pauliquevis, T.; Souza, R.; Artaxo, P.

2012-04-01

For the first time in Amazonia, continuous measurements of the vertical aerosol structure were carried out in the framework of EUCAARI (European Integrated Project on Aerosol, Cloud, Climate, Air Quality Interactions) and AMAZE-08 (Amazonian Aerosol Characterization Experiment). The observations were performed 60 km north of Manaus, Brazil (at 2° 35.5' S and 60° 2.3' W) in the central northern part of the Amazon rain forest from January to November 2008 with the automated multi-wavelength-Raman-polarization-lidar PollyXT. With this instrument, vertical profiles of the particle backscatter coefficient at 355, 532, and 1064 nm, of the particle extinction coefficient at 355 and 532 nm, and of the particle linear depolarization ratio at 355 nm can be determined. During the 10-months observational period, measurements were performed on 211 days resulting in more than 2500 hours of tropospheric aerosol and cloud profile observations. The analysis of the long-term data set revealed strong differences in the aerosol characteristics between the wet and the dry season. In the wet season, very clean atmospheric conditions occurred in ca. 50% of all observation cases. During these clean conditions, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 532 nm was less than 0.05 and the aerosol was trapped in the lowermost 2 km of the troposphere. However, also intrusions of Saharan dust and African biomass-burning aerosol (BBA) - characterized by a significantly increased AOD and particle depolarization ratio - were observed in about one third (32%) of all lidar observations. These African aerosol plumes extended usually from the surface up to about 3.5 km agl. During the dry season, BBA from fires on the South American continent was the dominant aerosol species. The mean AOD of the dry season was found to be a factor of 3 higher than the mean AOD of the wet season (0.26 compared to 0.08 at 532 nm). This is due to the high BBA concentration in the atmosphere. Maximum AOD values were less than 0

Measurements of the skylight scattering function.

PubMed

Volz, F E

1987-10-01

A small, handheld skylight photometer, incorporated into a sun photometer and capable of measuring sky radiation to within 2 degrees of the sun at lambda 0.50 and 0.93 microm is described. Calibration procedures are discussed; solar measurements in the wideband 0.93-microm channel show the expected influence of water vapor. Formulas to obtain the aerosol scattering function are presented. Samples of measured and theoretical aerosol scattering functions are discussed.

Summer and winter time heterogeneity in aerosol single scattering albedo over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean during the TCAP field campaign: Relationship to chemical composition and mixing state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, L. K.; Chand, D.; Fast, J. D.; Zelenyuk, A.; Wilson, J. M.; Sedlacek, A. J., III; Tomlinson, J. M.; Hubbe, J. M.; Comstock, J. M.; Mei, F.; Kassianov, E.; Schmid, B.

2015-12-01

Aerosol play crucial role in earth's radiative budget by scattering and absorbing solar radiation. The impact of aerosol on radiation budget depend on several factors including single scattering albedo (SSA), composition, and the growth processes, like coating or mixing. We describe findings relevant to optical properties of aerosol characterized over the Cape Cod and nearby northwest Atlantic Ocean during the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) during the summer (July 2012) and winter (February 2013) campaigns. The average single scattering albedo (SSA) shows distinctly different vertical profiles during the summer and winter periods. During the summer study period, the average SSA is greater than 0.95 near surface, it increases to 0.97 until an altitude of 2.5 km, and then decreases to 0.94 at top of the column near 4 km. In contrast, during the winter study period the average SSA is less than 0.93 and decreases with height reaching an average value of 0.87 near the top of the column. The large difference in summer and winter time SSA is linked to the presence of biomass burning (BB) aerosol rather than black carbon or soot in both seasons. In our study, the BB on average is factor of two higher in free troposphere (FT) during summer and more than a factor of two higher in the boundary layer during winter. Single particle analysis indicates that the average profiles of refractory black carbon (rBC) mass are similar in both seasons. The average rBC size are similar at all altitudes sampled (0-4 km) in summer time but different during winter time. In addition, the particles sampled in the summertime FT appear to be more aged than those seen during winter. The observed large heterogeneity in SSA and its links to the particle coating and composition highlights the importance of aging and mixing processes of aerosol in this region and represents a challenge for both regional and global scale models.

Using long-term ground-based HSRL and geostationary observations in combination with model re-analysis to help disentangle local and long-range transported aerosols in Seoul, South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, C.; Holz, R.; Eloranta, E. W.; Reid, J. S.; Kim, S. W.; Kuehn, R.; Marais, W.

2017-12-01

The University of Wisconsin High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) has been continuously operating at Seoul National University as part of the Korea-United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ). The instrument was installed in March of 2016 and continues to operate as of August 2017, providing a truly unique data set to monitor aerosol and cloud properties. With its capability to separate the molecular and particulate scattering, the HSRL is able to detect extremely thin aerosol layers with sub-molecular scattering sensitivity. The system deployed in Seoul has depolarization measurements at 532 nm as well as a near IR channel at 1064 nm providing discrimination between dust, smoke, pollution, water clouds, and ice clouds. As will be presented, these capabilities can be used to produce three channel combined RGB images that provide visualization of small changes in the aerosol properties. A primary motivation of KORUS-AQ was to determine the relative effects of transported pollution and local pollution on air quality in Seoul. We hypothesize that HSRL-based image analysis algorithms combined with satellite and model re-analysis has the potential to identify cases when remote sources of aerosols and pollution are advected into the boundary layer with impacts to the surface air quality. To facilitate this research we have developed the capability to combine ten-minute geostationary imagery from Himawari-8, nearby radiosondes, model output, surface PM measurements, and AERONET data over the HSRL site. On a case-by-case basis, it is possible to separate layers of aerosols with different scattering properties using these tools. Additionally, a preliminary year-long aerosol climatology with integrated geo-stationary retrievals and modeling data will be presented. The focus is on investigating correlations between the HSRL aerosol measurements (depolarization, color ratio, extinction, and lidar ratio) with the model output and aerosol sources. This analysis will use recently

Radiative Effects of Aerosol in the Marine Environment: Tales from the Two-Column Aerosol Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, L. K.; Fast, J. D.; Barnard, J.; Chand, D.; Chapman, E. G.; Comstock, J. M.; Ferrare, R. A.; Flynn, C. J.; Hair, J. W.; Hostetler, C. A.; Hubbe, J.; Johnson, R.; Kassianov, E.; Kluzek, C.; Laskin, A.; Lee, Y.; Mei, F.; Michalsky, J. J.; Redemann, J.; Rogers, R. R.; Russell, P. B.; Sedlacek, A. J.; Schmid, B.; Shilling, J. E.; Shinozuka, Y.; Springston, S. R.; Tomlinson, J. M.; Wilson, J. M.; Zelenyuk, A.; Berkowitz, C. M.

2013-12-01

There is still uncertainty associated with the direct radiative forcing by atmospheric aerosol and its representation in atmospheric models. This is particularly true in marine environments near the coast where the aerosol loading is a function of both naturally occurring and anthropogenic aerosol. These regions are also subject to variable synoptic and thermally driven flows (land-sea breezes) that transport aerosol between the continental and marine environments. The situation is made more complicated due to seasonal changes in aerosol emissions. Given these differences in emissions, we expect significant differences in the aerosol intensive and extensive properties between summer and winter and data is needed to evaluate models over the wide range of conditions. To address this issue, the recently completed Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) was designed to measure the key aerosol parameters in two atmospheric columns, one located over Cape Cod, Massachusetts and another approximately 200 km from the coast over the Atlantic Ocean. Measurements included aerosol size distribution, chemical composition, optical properties and vertical distribution. Several aspects make TCAP unique, including the year-long deployment of a suite of surface-based instruments by the US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility and two aircraft intensive operations periods supported by the ARM Airborne Facility, one conducted in July 2012 and a second in February 2013. The presentation will include a discussion of the impact of the aerosol optical properties and their uncertainty on simulations of the radiation budget within the TCAP domain in the context of both single column and regional scale models. Data from TCAP will be used to highlight a number of important factors, including diurnal variation in aerosol optical depth measured at the surface site, systematic changes in aerosol optical properties (including scattering, absorption, and

Hygroscopic Measurements of Aerosol Particles in the San Joaquin Valley California during the DRAGON and Discover AQ Campaign 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orozco, D.; Delgado, R.; Hoff, R. M.

2013-12-01

In the ambient atmosphere, aerosol particles experience hygroscopic growth due to the influence of relative humidity (RH). Wet aerosols particles are larger than their dry equivalents, therefore they scatter more light. Quantitative knowledge of the RH effect and its influence on the light scattering coefficient on aerosol particles is of substantial importance when comparing ground based observations with other optical aerosol measurements techniques such satellite and sunphotometric retrievals of aerosol optical depth. The DISCOVER-AQ campaign is focused in improving the interpretation and relation between satellite observations and surface conditions related to air quality. In the winter of 2013, this campaign was held in the San Joaquin Valley, California, where systematic and concurrent observations of column integrated surface, and vertically resolved distributions of aerosols and trace gases relevant to air quality and their evolution during the day were observed. Different instruments such as particulate samplers, lidars, meteorological stations and airborne passive and active monitoring were coordinated to measure the aerosol structure of the San Joaquin Valley in a simultaneous fashion. A novel humidifier-dryer system for a TSI 3563 Nephelometer was implemented in the Penn State University NATIVE trailer located in Porterville California in order to measure the scattering coefficient σsp(λ) at three different wavelengths (λ=440, 550 and 700nm) in a RH range from 30 to 95%. The system was assembled by combining Nafion tubes to humidify and dry the aerosols and stepping motor valves to control the flow and the amount of humidity entering to the Nephelometer. Measurements in Porterville California reached dry scattering coefficient readings greater than 300Mm-1 at 550nm indicating the presence of a large amount of particles in the region. However, the ratio between scattering coefficients at high and low humidity, called the enhancement factor f

Long-term variability of aerosol optical properties and radiative effects in Northern Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lihavainen, Heikki; Hyvärinen, Antti; Asmi, Eija; Hatakka, Juha; Viisanen, Yrjö

2017-04-01

We introduce long term dataset of aerosol scattering and absorption properties and combined aerosol optical properties measured in Pallas Atmosphere-Ecosystem Supersite in Norhern Finland. The station is located 170 km north of the Arctic Circle. The station is affected by both pristine Arctic air masses as well as long transported air pollution from northern Europe. We studied the optical properties of aerosols and their radiative effects in continental and marine air masses, including seasonal cycles and long-term trends. The average (median) scattering coefficient, backscattering fraction, absorption coefficient and single scattering albedo at the wavelength of 550 nm were 7.9 (4.4) 1/Mm, 0.13 (0.12), 0.74 (0.35) 1/Mm and 0.92 (0.93), respectively. We observed clear seasonal cycles in these variables, the scattering coefficient having high values during summer and low in fall, and absorption coefficient having high values during winter and low in fall. We found that the high values of the absorption coefficient and low values of the single scattering albedo were related to continental air masses from lower latitudes. These aerosols can induce an additional effect on the surface albedo and melting of snow. We observed the signal of the Arctic haze in marine (northern) air masses during March and April. The haze increased the value of the absorption coefficient by almost 80% and that of the scattering coefficient by about 50% compared with the annual-average values. We did not observe any long-term trend in the scattering coefficient, while our analysis showed a clear decreasing trend in the backscattering fraction and scattering Ångström exponent during winter. We also observed clear relationship with temperature and aerosol scattering coefficient. We will present also how these different features affects to aerosol direct radiative forcing.

New Satellite Project Aerosol-UA: Remote Sensing of Aerosols in the Terrestrial Atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milinevsky, G.; Yatskiv, Ya.; Degtyaryov, O.; Syniavskyi, I.; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Rosenbush, V.; Ivanov, Yu.; Makarov, A.; Bovchaliuk, A.; Danylevsky, V.;

Aerosol optical depth under "clear" sky conditions derived from sea surface reflection of lidar signals.

PubMed

He, Min; Hu, Yongxiang; Huang, Jian Ping; Stamnes, Knut

2016-12-26

There are considerable demands for accurate atmospheric correction of satellite observations of the sea surface or subsurface signal. Surface and sub-surface reflection under "clear" atmospheric conditions can be used to study atmospheric correction for the simplest possible situation. Here "clear" sky means a cloud-free atmosphere with sufficiently small aerosol particles. The "clear" aerosol concept is defined according to the spectral dependence of the scattering cross section on particle size. A 5-year combined CALIPSO and AMSR-E data set was used to derive the aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the lidar signal reflected from the sea surface. Compared with the traditional lidar-retrieved AOD, which relies on lidar backscattering measurements and an assumed lidar ratio, the AOD retrieved through the surface reflectance method depends on both scattering and absorption because it is based on two-way attenuation of the lidar signal transmitted to and then reflected from the surface. The results show that the clear sky AOD derived from the surface signal agrees with the clear sky AOD available in the CALIPSO level 2 database in the westerly wind belt located in the southern hemisphere, but yields significantly higher aerosol loadings in the tropics and in the northern hemisphere.

Aerosol Radiative Forcing in Asian Continental Outflow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pueschel, R.; Kinne, S.; Redemann, J.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Aerosols in elevated layers were sampled with FSSP-probes and wire impactors over the Pacific ocean aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft. Analyses of particle size and morphology identifies two distinctly different aerosol types for cases when the mid-visible extinctions exceed 0.2/km. Smaller sizes (effective radii of 0.2 um) and moderate absorption (mid-visible single scattering albedo of.935) are typical for urban-industrial pollution. Larger sizes (effective radii of 0.7 um) and weak absorption (mid-visible single scattering albedo of 0.985) identify dust. This aerosol classification is in agreement with its origin as determined by airmass back trajectory analysis. Based on lidar vertical profiling, aerosol dominated by dust and urban-industrial pollution above 3km were assigned mid-visible optical depths of 0.50 and 0.27, respectively. Radiative transfer simulations, considering a 50% cloud-cover below the aerosol layers, suggest (on a daily tP C)C> basis) small reductions (-4W/m2) to the energy budget at the top of the atmosphere for both aerosol types. For c' 0 dust, more backscattering of sunlight (weaker solar absorption) is compensated by a stronger greenhouse effect due to larger sizes. Forced reductions to the energy budget at the surface are 12W/m2 for both aerosol types. In contrast, impacts on heating rates within the aerosol layers are quite different: While urban-industrial aerosol warms the layer (at +0.6K/day as solar heating dominates), dust cools (at -0.5K/day as infrared cooling dominates). Sensitivity tests show the dependence of the aerosol climatic impact on the optical depth, particle size, absorptivity, and altitude of the layers, as well as clouds and surface properties. Climatic cooling can be eliminated (1) for the urban-industrial aerosol if absorption is increased to yield a mid-visible single scattering albedo of 0.89, or if the ocean is replaced by a land surface; (2) for the dust aerosol if the effective radius is increased from 0.7 to 1

Inverse atmospheric radiative transfer problems - A nonlinear minimization search method of solution. [aerosol pollution monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fymat, A. L.

1976-01-01

The paper studies the inversion of the radiative transfer equation describing the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atmospheric aerosols. The interaction can be considered as the propagation in the aerosol medium of two light beams: the direct beam in the line-of-sight attenuated by absorption and scattering, and the diffuse beam arising from scattering into the viewing direction, which propagates more or less in random fashion. The latter beam has single scattering and multiple scattering contributions. In the former case and for single scattering, the problem is reducible to first-kind Fredholm equations, while for multiple scattering it is necessary to invert partial integrodifferential equations. A nonlinear minimization search method, applicable to the solution of both types of problems has been developed, and is applied here to the problem of monitoring aerosol pollution, namely the complex refractive index and size distribution of aerosol particles.

The analysis of in situ and retrieved aerosol properties measured during three airborne field campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corr, Chelsea A.

actinic flux (AF SSA) to those retrieved using ratios of direct and diffuse irradiance (DDR SSA) at four wavelengths: 332, 368, 415, and 500 mn. Both actinic flux and irradiance were measured atop the University of Houston's Moody Tower in Houston, TX as part of the Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) mission in September 2013. AF SSA values were consistently lower than DDR SSAs with largest offsets observed when aerosol optical depths was < ~0.2. AF SSA were also lower than those reported by the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and column-averaged values calculated from aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients measured aboard the NASA P3-B aircraft at 450 and 550 nm. However, AAE values calculated from AF SSAs compared well to AERONET and column-averaged AAEs suggesting actinic flux retrievals can correctly resolve the spectral dependence of aerosol absorption. Recent work has suggested that mineral dust is the most important IN found in both anvil and synoptically formed cirrus clouds over North America. The vertical transport processes sustaining significant mineral dust in the upper troposphere (> 9 km) where these clouds form are not well understood, but deep convective systems (thunder storms) likely play a role. Bulk aerosol Ca2+ concentrations and volume size distributions were measured aboard the NASA DC-8 during the NCAR Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC-3) conducted in May/June 2012 in both the inflow and outflow regions of twelve isolated, high cloud base storms over CO and OK. Outflow/inflow ratios of both Ca2+ and total coarse (limn < diameter < 5 microm) aerosol volume (Vc)were high (> ~0.9) suggesting a significant fraction of ingested coarse mode dust was transported through these systems. Elevated Ca2+ and Vc in the outflow were most likely not artifacts of ice shattering given the general absence of a relationship between these

Spectrally-resolved measurements of aerosol extinction at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, M.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Brock, C. A.; Brown, S. S.; Rudich, Y.

2012-12-01

Aerosols play an important role in the Earth's radiative budget. Aerosol extinction includes both the scattering and absorption of light, and these vary with wavelength, aerosol diameter, and aerosol composition. Historically, aerosol absorption has been measured using filter-based or extraction methods that are prone to artifacts. There have been few investigations of ambient aerosol optical properties at the blue end of the visible spectrum and into the ultraviolet. Brown carbon is particularly important in this spectral region, because it both absorbs and scatters light, and encompasses a large and variable group of organic compounds from biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol. We have developed a laboratory instrument that combines new, high-power LED light sources with high-finesse optical cavities to achieve sensitive measurements of aerosol optical extinction. This instrument contains two broadband channels, with spectral coverage from 360 - 390 nm and 385 - 420 nm. Using this instrument, we report aerosol extinction in the ultraviolet and near-visible spectral region as a function of chemical composition and structure. We have measured the extinction cross-sections between 360 - 420 nm with 0.5 nm resolution using different sizes and concentrations of polystyrene latex spheres, ammonium sulfate, and Suwannee River fulvic acid. Fitting the real and imaginary part of the refractive index allows the absorption and scattering to be determined.

The Effect of Aerosol Hygroscopicity and Volatility on Aerosol Optical Properties During Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khlystov, A.; Grieshop, A. P.; Saha, P.; Subramanian, R.

2014-12-01

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from biogenic sources can influence optical properties of ambient aerosol by altering its hygroscopicity and contributing to light absorption directly via formation of brown carbon and indirectly by enhancing light absorption by black carbon ("lensing effect"). The magnitude of these effects remains highly uncertain. A set of state-of-the-art instruments was deployed at the SEARCH site near Centerville, AL during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) campaign in summer 2013 to measure the effect of relative humidity and temperature on aerosol size distribution, composition and optical properties. Light scattering and absorption by temperature- and humidity-conditioned aerosols was measured using three photo-acoustic extinctiometers (PAX) at three wavelengths (405 nm, 532 nm, and 870 nm). The sample-conditioning system provided measurements at ambient RH, 10%RH ("dry"), 85%RH ("wet"), and 200 C ("TD"). In parallel to these measurements, a long residence time temperature-stepping thermodenuder (TD) and a variable residence time constant temperature TD in combination with three SMPS systems and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) were used to assess aerosol volatility and kinetics of aerosol evaporation. We will present results of the on-going analysis of the collected data set. We will show that both temperature and relative humidity have a strong effect on aerosol optical properties. SOA appears to increase aerosol light absorption by about 10%. TD measurements suggest that aerosol equilibrated fairly quickly, within 2 s. Evaporation varied substantially with ambient aerosol loading and composition and meteorology.

Aerosol vertical distribution and optical properties over the arid and semi-arid areas of Northwest China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, L.; Tian, P.; Cao, X.; Liang, J.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols affect the energy budget of the Earth-atmosphere system by direct interaction with solar radiation through scattering and absorption, also indirectly affect weather and climate by altering cloud formation, albedo, and lightning activity. To better understand the information on aerosols over the arid and semi-arid areas of Northwest China, we carried out a series of observation experiments in Wuwei, Zhangye, Dunhuang, and a permanent site SACOL (the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University) (35.95°N, 104.14°E) in Lanzhou, and optical properties using satellite and ground-based remote-sensing measurements. A modified dual-wavelength Mie-scattering lidar (L2S-SM II) inversion algorithm was proposed to simulate the optical property of dust aerosol more accurately. We introduced the physical significance of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and the noise component removed from the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method into the denoising process of the micro-pulse lidar (CE370-2,Cimel) backscattering signal, and developed an EMD-based automatic data-denoising algorithm, which was proven to be better than the wavelet method. Also, we improved the cloud discrimination. On the basis of these studies, aerosol vertical distribution and optical properties were investigated. The main results were as follows:(1) Dust could be lifted up to a 8 km height over Northwest China; (2) From 2005 to 2008, and aerosol existed in the layer below 4 km at SACOL, and the daily average AOD was 87.8% below 0.4; (3) The average depolarization ratio, Ångström exponent α440/870nm and effective radius of black carbon aerosols were 0.24, 0.86±0.30 and 0.54±0.17 μm, respectively, from November 2010 to February 2011; (4) Compared to other regions of China, the Taklamakan Desert and Tibetan Plateau regions exhibit higher depolarization and color ratios because of the natural dust origin. Our studies provided the key information on the long

A simple model for the cloud adjacency effect and the apparent bluing of aerosols near clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshak, Alexander; Wen, Guoyong; Coakley, James A.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Loeb, Norman G.; Cahalan, Robert F.

2008-07-01

In determining aerosol-cloud interactions, the properties of aerosols must be characterized in the vicinity of clouds. Numerous studies based on satellite observations have reported that aerosol optical depths increase with increasing cloud cover. Part of the increase comes from the humidification and consequent growth of aerosol particles in the moist cloud environment, but part comes from 3-D cloud-radiative transfer effects on the retrieved aerosol properties. Often, discerning whether the observed increases in aerosol optical depths are artifacts or real proves difficult. The paper only addresses the cloud-clear sky radiative transfer interaction part. It provides a simple model that quantifies the enhanced illumination of cloud-free columns in the vicinity of clouds that are used in the aerosol retrievals. This model is based on the assumption that the enhancement in the cloud-free column radiance comes from enhanced Rayleigh scattering that results from the presence of the nearby clouds. This assumption leads to a larger increase of AOT for shorter wavelengths, or to a "bluing" of aerosols near clouds. The assumption that contribution from molecular scattering dominates over aerosol scattering and surface reflection is justified for the case of shorter wavelengths, dark surfaces, and an aerosol layer below the cloud tops. The enhancement in Rayleigh scattering is estimated using a stochastic cloud model to obtain the radiative flux reflected by broken clouds and comparing this flux with that obtained with the molecules in the atmosphere causing extinction, but no scattering.

A Pure Marine Aerosol Model, for Use in Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sayer, A. M.; Smirnov, A.; Hsu, N. C.; Holben, B. N.

2011-01-01

Retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and related parameters from satellite measurements typically involve prescribed models of aerosol size and composition, and are therefore dependent on how well these models are able to represent the radiative behaviour of real aerosols, This study uses aerosol volume size distributions retrieved from Sun-photometer measurements at 11 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) island sites, spread throughout the world's oceans, as a basis to define such a model for unpolluted maritime aerosols. Size distributions are observed to be bimodal and approximately lognormal, although the coarse mode is skewed with a long tail on the low-radius end, The relationship of AOD and size distribution parameters to meteorological conditions is also examined, As wind speed increases, so do coarse-mode volume and radius, The AOD and Angstrom exponent (alpha) show linear relationships with wind speed, although there is considerable scatter in all these relationships, limiting their predictive power. Links between aerosol properties and near-surface relative humidity, columnar water vapor, and sea surface temperature are also explored. A recommended bimodal maritime model, which is able to reconstruct the AERONET AOD with accuracy of order 0.01-0.02, is presented for use in aerosol remote sensing applications. This accuracy holds at most sites and for wavelengths between 340 nm and 1020 nm. Calculated lidar ratios are also provided, and differ significantly from those currently used in Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) processing.

Size distributions of organic nitrogen and carbon in remote marine aerosols: Evidence of marine biological origin based on their isotopic ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyazaki, Yuzo; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Sawano, Maki

2010-03-01

Size-segregated aerosol samples were collected over the western North Pacific in summer 2008 for the measurements of organic nitrogen (ON) and organic carbon (OC). ON and OC showed bimodal size distributions. Their concentrations showed positive correlation with those of biogenic tracers, methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and azelaic acid (C9). We found that average ON and OC concentrations were twice greater in aerosols collected in the oceanic region with higher biological productivity than in the regions with lower productivity. The average ON/OC ratios are higher (0.49 ± 0.11) in more biologically influenced aerosols than those (0.35 ± 0.10) in less influenced aerosols. Stable carbon isotopic analysis indicates that marine-derived carbon accounted for ˜46-72% of total carbon in more biologically influenced aerosols. These results provide evidence that organic aerosols in this region are enriched in ON that is linked to oceanic biological activity and the subsequent emissions to the atmosphere.

Monitoring biological aerosols using UV fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eversole, Jay D.; Roselle, Dominick; Seaver, Mark E.

1999-01-01

An apparatus has been designed and constructed to continuously monitor the number density, size, and fluorescent emission of ambient aerosol particles. The application of fluorescence to biological particles suspended in the atmosphere requires laser excitation in the UV spectral region. In this study, a Nd:YAG laser is quadrupled to provide a 266 nm wavelength to excite emission from single micrometer-sized particles in air. Fluorescent emission is used to continuously identify aerosol particles of biological origin. For calibration, biological samples of Bacillus subtilis spores and vegetative cells, Esherichia coli, Bacillus thuringiensis and Erwinia herbicola vegetative cells were prepared as suspensions in water and nebulized to produce aerosols. Detection of single aerosol particles, provides elastic scattering response as well as fluorescent emission in two spectral bands simultaneously. Our efforts have focuses on empirical characterization of the emission and scattering characteristics of various bacterial samples to determine the feasibility of optical discrimination between different cell types. Preliminary spectroscopic evidence suggest that different samples can be distinguished as separate bio-aerosol groups. In addition to controlled sample results, we will also discuss the most recent result on the effectiveness of detection outdoor releases and variations in environmental backgrounds.

Measurements of Semi-volatile Aerosol and Its Effect on Aerosol Optical Properties During Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khlystov, A.; Grieshop, A. P.; Saha, P.; Subramanian, R.

2013-12-01

Semi-volatile compounds, including particle-bound water, comprise a large part of aerosol mass and have a significant influence on aerosol lifecycle and its optical properties. Understanding the properties of semi-volatile compounds, especially those pertaining to gas/aerosol partitioning, is of critical importance for our ability to predict concentrations and properties of ambient aerosol. A set of state-of-the-art instruments was deployed at the SEARCH site near Centerville, AL during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) campaign in summer 2013 to measure the effect of temperature and relative humidity on aerosol size distribution, composition and optical properties. Light scattering and absorption by temperature- and humidity-conditioned aerosols was measured using three photo-acoustic extinctiometers (PAX) at three wavelengths (405 nm, 532 nm, and 870 nm). In parallel to these measurements, a long residence time temperature-stepping thermodenuder and a variable residence time constant temperature thermodenuder in combination with three SMPS systems and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) were used to assess aerosol volatility and kinetics of aerosol evaporation. It was found that both temperature and relative humidity have a strong effect on aerosol optical properties. The variable residence time thermodenuder data suggest that aerosol equilibrated fairly quickly, within 2 s, in contrast to other ambient observations. Preliminary analysis show that approximately 50% and 90% of total aerosol mass evaporated at temperatures of 100 C and 180C, respectively. Evaporation varied substantially with ambient aerosol loading and composition and meteorology. During course of this study, T50 (temperatures at which 50% aerosol mass evaporates) varied from 60 C to more than 120 C.

Characterization of tropospheric desert aerosols at solar wavelengths by multispectral radiometry from Landsat

USGS Publications Warehouse

Otterman, Joseph; Fraser, R. S.; Bahethi, O. P.

1982-01-01

Characteristics of tropospheric desert aerosols are derived by comparing nadir spectral reflectivities computed from the radiative transfer models with reflectivities measured from Landsat. Over the ocean, reflectivities are compared, but over land the comparison is carried out by determining the ratios of the nadir reflectivity of the surface-atmosphere system over heavy aerosol concentration to the reflectivity of the underlying surface. This remote sensing technique is found to be a sensitive approach for measuring n2, the imaginary part of the refractive index. The desert aerosols under study, in the Iran and Pakistan area, are essentially pure scatterers, inasmuch as an n2 value of 0.001±0.001 was determined for each of the four Landsat spectral bands, that is, for a spectral interval from 0.5 to 1.1 μm.

North Atlantic Aerosol Radiative Impacts Based on Satellite Measurements and Aerosol Intensive Properties from TARFOX and ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, Robert A.; Russell, Philip B.

2000-01-01

We estimate the impact of North Atlantic aerosols on the net shortwave flux at the tropopause by combining maps of satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) with model aerosol properties. We exclude African dust, primarily by restricting latitudes to 25-60 N. Aerosol properties were determined via column closure analyses in two recent experiments, TARFOX and ACE 2. The analyses use in situ measurements of aerosol composition and air- and ship-borne sunphotometer measurements of AOD spectra. The resulting aerosol model yields computed flux sensitivities (dFlux/dAOD) that agree with measurements by airborne flux radiometers in TARFOX. It has a midvisible single- scattering albedo of 0.9, which is in the range obtained from in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption in both TARFOX and ACE 2. Combining seasonal maps of AVHRR-derived midvisible AOD with the aerosol model yields maps of 24-hour average net radiative flux changes at the tropopause. For cloud-free conditions, results range from -9 W/sq m near the eastern US coastline in the summer to -1 W/sq m in the mid-Atlantic during winter; the regional annual average is -3.5 W/sq m. Using a non- absorbing aerosol model increases these values by about 30%. We estimate the effect of clouds using ISCCP cloud-fraction maps. Because ISCCP midlatitude North Atlantic cloud fractions are relatively large, they greatly reduce the computed aerosol-induced flux changes. For example, the regional annual average decreases from -3.5 W/sq m to -0.8 W/sq m. We compare results to previous model calculations for a variety of aerosol types.

North Atlantic Aerosol Radiative Effects Based on Satellite Measurements and Aerosol Intensive Properties from TARFOX and ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, Robert W.; Russell, Philip B.

2000-01-01

We estimate the impact of North Atlantic aerosols on the net shortwave flux at the tropopause by combining maps of satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) with model aerosol properties. We exclude African dust, primarily by restricting latitudes to 25-60 N. Aerosol properties were determined via column closure analyses in two recent experiments, TARFOX and ACE 2. The analyses use in situ measurements of aerosol composition and air- and ship-borne sunphotometer measurements of AOD spectra. The resulting aerosol model yields computed flux sensitivities (dFlux/dAOD) that agree with measurements by airborne flux radiometers in TARFOX. It has a midvisible single-scattering albedo of 0.9, which is in the range obtained from in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption in both TARFOX and ACE 2. Combining seasonal maps of AVHRR-derived midvisible AOD with the aerosol model yields maps of 24-hour average net radiative flux changes at the tropopause. For cloud-free conditions, results range from -9 W/sq m near the eastern US coastline in the summer to -1 W/sq m in the mid-Atlantic during winter; the regional annual average is -3.5 W/sq m. Using a non- absorbing aerosol model increases these values by about 30%. We estimate the effect of clouds using ISCCP cloud-fraction maps. Because ISCCP midlatitude North Atlantic cloud fractions are relatively large, they greatly reduce the computed aerosol-induced flux changes. For example, the regional annual average decreases from -3.5 W/sq m to -0.8 W/sq m. We compare results to previous model calculations for a variety of aerosol types.

North Atlantic Aerosol Radiative Impacts Based on Satellite Measurements and Aerosol Intensive Properties from TARFOX and ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Philip B.; Bergstrom, Robert W.; Schmid, Beat; Livingston, John M.

2000-01-01

We estimate the impact of North Atlantic aerosols on the net shortwave flux at the tropopause by combining maps of satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) with model aerosol properties. We exclude African dust, primarily by restricting latitudes to 25-60 N. Aerosol properties were determined via column closure analyses in two recent experiments, TARFOX and ACE 2. The analyses use in situ measurements of aerosol composition and air- and ship-borne sunphotometer measurements of AOD spectra. The resulting aerosol model yields computed flux sensitivities (dFlux/dAOD) that agree with measurements by airborne flux radiometers in TARFOX. It has a midvisible single-scattering albedo of 0.9, which is in the range obtained from in situ measurements of aerosol scattering and absorption in both TARFOX and ACE 2. Combining seasonal maps of AVHRR-derived midvisible AOD with the aerosol model yields maps of 24-hour average net radiative flux changes at the tropopause. For cloud-free conditions, results range from -9 W/sq m near the eastern US coastline in the summer to -1 W/sq m in the mid-Atlantic during winter; the regional annual average is -3.5 W/sq m. Using a non- absorbing aerosol model increases these values by about 30%. We estimate the effect of clouds using ISCCP cloud-fraction maps. Because ISCCP midlatitude North Atlantic cloud fractions are relatively large, they greatly reduce the computed aerosol-induced flux changes. For example, the regional annual average decreases from -3.5 W/sq m to -0.8 W/sq m. We compare results to previous model calculations for a variety of aerosol types.

Wavelength dependence of dust aerosol single scattering albedo as observed by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolff, M. J.; Smith, M. D.; Clancy, R. T.; Arvidson, R.; Kahre, M.; Seelos, F.; Murchie, S.; Savijärvi, H.

2009-06-01

Observations by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) over the range 440-2920 nm of the very dusty Martian atmosphere of the 2007 planet-encircling dust event are combined with those made by both Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) to better characterize the single scattering albedo (ω 0) of Martian dust aerosols. Using the diagnostic geometry of the CRISM emission phase function (EPF) sequences and the “ground truth” connection provided at both MER locations allows one to more effectively isolate the single scattering albedo (ω 0). This approach eliminates a significant portion of the type of uncertainty involved in many of the earlier radiative transfer analyses. Furthermore, the use of a “first principles” or microphysical representation of the aerosol scattering properties offers a direct path to produce a set of complex refractive indices (m = n + ik) that are consistent with the retrieved ω 0 values. We consider a family of effective particle radii: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 μm. The resulting set of model data comparisons, ω 0, and m are presented along with an assessment of potential sources of error and uncertainty. We discuss our results within the context of previous work, including the apparent dichotomy of the literature values: “dark” (solar band ω 0 = 0.89-0.90) and “bright” (solar band ω 0 = 0.92-0.94). Previous work suggests that a mean radius of 1.8 μm is representative for the conditions sampled by the CRISM observations. Using the m for this case and a smaller effective particle radius more appropriate for diffuse dust conditions (1.4 μm), we examine EPF-derived optical depths relative to the MER 880 nm optical depths. Finally, we explore the potential impact of the resulting brighter solar band ω 0 of 0.94 to atmospheric temperatures in the planetary boundary layer.

Prediction of e± elastic scattering cross-section ratio based on phenomenological two-photon exchange corrections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qattan, I. A.

2017-06-01

I present a prediction of the e± elastic scattering cross-section ratio, Re+e-, as determined using a new parametrization of the two-photon exchange (TPE) corrections to electron-proton elastic scattering cross section σR. The extracted ratio is compared to several previous phenomenological extractions, TPE hadronic calculations, and direct measurements from the comparison of electron and positron scattering. The TPE corrections and the ratio Re+e- show a clear change of sign at low Q2, which is necessary to explain the high-Q2 form factors discrepancy while being consistent with the known Q2→0 limit. While my predictions are in generally good agreement with previous extractions, TPE hadronic calculations, and existing world data including the recent two measurements from the CLAS and VEPP-3 Novosibirsk experiments, they are larger than the new OLYMPUS measurements at larger Q2 values.

WRF-Chem simulations of aerosols and anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing in East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yi; Zhao, Chun; Liu, Xiaohong; Zhang, Meigen; Leung, L. Ruby

2014-08-01

This study aims to provide a first comprehensive evaluation of WRF-Chem for modeling aerosols and anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing (RF, including direct, semi-direct and indirect forcing) over East Asia. Several numerical experiments were conducted from November 2007 to December 2008. Comparison between model results and observations shows that the model can generally reproduce the observed spatial distributions of aerosol concentration, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and single scattering albedo (SSA) from measurements at many sites, including the relatively higher aerosol concentration and AOD over East China and the relatively lower AOD over Southeast Asia, Korea, and Japan. The model also depicts the seasonal variation and transport of pollutions over East Asia. Particulate matter of 10 μm or less in the aerodynamic diameter (PM10), black carbon (BC), sulfate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) concentrations are higher in spring than other seasons in Japan, which indicates the possible influence of pollutant transport from polluted area of East Asia. The model underestimates SO42- and organic carbon (OC) concentrations over mainland China by about a factor of 2, while overestimates NO3- concentration in autumn along the Yangtze River. The model captures the dust events at the Zhangye site in the semi-arid region of China. AOD is high over Southwest and Central China in winter and spring and over North China in winter, spring and summer while is low over South China in summer due to monsoon precipitation. SSA is lowest in winter and highest in summer. Anthropogenic aerosol RF is estimated to range from -5 to -20 W m-2 over land and -20 to -40 W m-2 over adjacent oceans at the top of atmosphere (TOA), 5-30 W m-2 in the atmosphere (ATM) and -15 to -40 W m-2 at the bottom (BOT). The warming effect of anthropogenic aerosol in ATM results from BC aerosol while the negative aerosol RF at TOA is caused by scattering aerosols such as SO42-, NO3- and NH4

Characterization of Optical Properties of Desert Dust and Other Aerosols Using Postive Matrix Factorization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lihavainen, H.; Alghamdi, M.; Hyvärinen, A.; Hussein, T.; Neitola, K.; Khoder, M.; Abdelmaksoud, A. S.; Al-Jeelani, H.; Shabbaj, I. I.; Almehmadi, F. M.

2017-12-01

To derive the comprehensive aerosol in situ characteristics at a rural background area in Saudi Arabia, an aerosol measurements station was established to Hada Al Sham, 60 km east from the Red Sea and the city of Jeddah. The present sturdy describes the observational data from February 2013 to February 2015 of scattering and absorption coefficients, Ångström exponents and single scattering albedo over the measurement period. As expected, the scattering coefficient was dominated by large desert dust particles with low Ångström scattering exponent. Especially from February to June the Ångström scattering exponent was clearly lower and scattering coefficients higher than total averages because of the dust outbreak season. Aerosol optical properties had clear diurnal cycle. The lowest scattering and absorption coefficients and aerosol optical depths were observed around noon. The observed diurnal variation is caused by wind direction and speed, during night time very calm easterly winds are dominating whereas during daytime the stronger westerly winds are dominating (sea breeze). Positive Matrix Factorization mathematical tool was applied to the scattering and absorption coefficients and PM2.5 and coarse mode (PM10- PM2.5) mass concentrations to characterise aerosols from different sources. Analysis revealed three clearly different types of sources, anthropogenic, BC source and desert dust. These factors have clearly different seasonal and diurnal variation. The contribution of desert dust factor was dominating from February to May, whereas the contribution of anthropogenic factor is quite steady over the whole year. We estimated the mass absorption and scattering efficiencies for the factors and they agreed well with earlier observations. Hence, this method could be used to distinguish aerosol source characteristics, at least in fairly simple cases.

Current Status of Aerosol Retrievals from TOMS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres, O.; Herman, J. R.; Bhartia, P. K.; Ginoux, P.

1999-01-01

Properties of atmospheric aerosols over all land and water surfaces are retrieved from TOMS measurements of backscattered radiances. The TOMS technique, uses observations at two wavelengths. In the near ultraviolet (330-380 nm) range, where the effects of gaseous absorption are negligible. The retrieved properties are optical depth and a measure of aerosol absorptivity, generally expressed as single scattering albedo. The main sources of error of the TOMS aerosol products are sub-pixel cloud contamination and uncertainty on the height above the surface of UV-absorbing aerosol layers. The first error source is related to the large footprint (50 x 50 km at nadir) of the sensor, and the lack of detection capability of sub-pixel size clouds. The uncertainty associated with the height of the absorbing aerosol layers, on the other hand, is related to the pressure dependence of the molecular scattering process, which is the basis of the near-UV method of absorbing aerosol detection. The detection of non-absorbing aerosols is not sensitive to aerosol layer height. We will report on the ongoing work to overcome both of these difficulties. Coincident measurements of high spatial resolution thermal infrared radiances are used to address the cloud contamination issue. Mostly clear scenes for aerosol retrieval are selected by examining the spatial homogeneity of the IR radiance measurements within a TOMS pixel. The approach to reduce the uncertainty associated with the height of the aerosol layer by making use of a chemical transport model will also be discussed.

LIVAS: a 3-D multi-wavelength aerosol/cloud database based on CALIPSO and EARLINET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amiridis, V.; Marinou, E.; Tsekeri, A.; Wandinger, U.; Schwarz, A.; Giannakaki, E.; Mamouri, R.; Kokkalis, P.; Binietoglou, I.; Solomos, S.; Herekakis, T.; Kazadzis, S.; Gerasopoulos, E.; Proestakis, E.; Kottas, M.; Balis, D.; Papayannis, A.; Kontoes, C.; Kourtidis, K.; Papagiannopoulos, N.; Mona, L.; Pappalardo, G.; Le Rille, O.; Ansmann, A.

2015-07-01

We present LIVAS (LIdar climatology of Vertical Aerosol Structure for space-based lidar simulation studies), a 3-D multi-wavelength global aerosol and cloud optical database, optimized to be used for future space-based lidar end-to-end simulations of realistic atmospheric scenarios as well as retrieval algorithm testing activities. The LIVAS database provides averaged profiles of aerosol optical properties for the potential spaceborne laser operating wavelengths of 355, 532, 1064, 1570 and 2050 nm and of cloud optical properties at the wavelength of 532 nm. The global database is based on CALIPSO observations at 532 and 1064 nm and on aerosol-type-dependent backscatter- and extinction-related Ångström exponents, derived from EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) ground-based measurements for the UV and scattering calculations for the IR wavelengths, using a combination of input data from AERONET, suitable aerosol models and recent literature. The required spectral conversions are calculated for each of the CALIPSO aerosol types and are applied to CALIPSO backscatter and extinction data corresponding to the aerosol type retrieved by the CALIPSO aerosol classification scheme. A cloud optical database based on CALIPSO measurements at 532 nm is also provided, neglecting wavelength conversion due to approximately neutral scattering behavior of clouds along the spectral range of LIVAS. Averages of particle linear depolarization ratio profiles at 532 nm are provided as well. Finally, vertical distributions for a set of selected scenes of specific atmospheric phenomena (e.g., dust outbreaks, volcanic eruptions, wild fires, polar stratospheric clouds) are analyzed and spectrally converted so as to be used as case studies for spaceborne lidar performance assessments. The final global data set includes 4-year (1 January 2008-31 December 2011) time-averaged CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) data on a uniform grid of 1�

Two-Column Aerosol Project: Aerosol Light Extinction Measurements Field Campaign Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dubey, Manvendra; Aiken, Allison; Berg, Larry

We deployed Aerodyne Research Inc.’s first Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift extinction (CAPS PMex) monitor (built by Aerodyne) that measures light extinction by using a visible-light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source, a sample cell incorporating two high-reflectivity mirrors centered at the wavelength of the LED, and a vacuum photodiode detector in Cape Cod in 2012/13 for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP). The efficacy of this instrument is based on the fact that aerosols are broadband scatterers and absorbers of light. The input LED is square-wave modulated and passedmore » through the sample cell that distorts it due to exponential decay by aerosol light absorption and scattering; this is measured at the detector. The amount of phase shift of the light at the detector is used to determine the light extinction. This extinction measurement provides an absolute value, requiring no calibration. The goal was to compare the CAPS performance with direct measurements of absorption with ARM’s baseline photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS-3) and nephelometer instruments to evaluate its performance.« less

A New Optical Aerosol Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fonda, Mark; Malcolmson, Andrew; Bonin, Mike; Stratton, David; Rogers, C. Fred; Chang, Sherwood (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

An optical particle spectrometer capable of measuring aerosol particle size distributions from 0.02 to 100 micrometers has been developed. This instrument combines several optical methods in one, in-situ configuration; it can provide continuous data collection to encompass the wide dynamic size ranges and concentrations found in studies of modeled planetary atmospheres as well as terrestrial air quality research. Currently, the system is incorporated into an eight liter capacity spherical pressure vessel that is appropriate both for flowthrough and for in-situ particle generation. The optical sizing methods include polarization ratio, The scattering, and forward scattering detectors, with illumination from a fiber-coupled, Argon-ion laser. As particle sizes increase above 0.1 micrometer, a customized electronics and software system automatically shifts from polarization to diffraction-based measurements as the angular scattering detectors attain acceptable signal-to-noise ratios. The number concentration detection limits are estimated to be in the part-per-trillion (ppT by volume) range, or roughly 1000 submicron particles per cubic centimeter. Results from static experiments using HFC134A (approved light scattering gas standard), flow-through experiments using sodium chloride (NaCl) and carbon particles, and dynamic 'Tholin' (photochemical produced particles from ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated acetylene and nitrogen) experiments have been obtained. The optical spectrometer data obtained with particles have compared well with particle sizes determined by electron microscopy. The 'Tholin' tests provided real-time size and concentration data as the particles grew from about 30 nanometers to about 0.8 micrometers, with concentrations ranging from ppT to ppB, by volume. Tests are still underway, to better define sizing accuracy and concentration limits, these results will be reported.

Low hygroscopicity of ambient fresh carbonaceous aerosols from pyrotechnics smoke

DOE PAGES

Carrico, Christian M.; Gomez, Samantha Laray; Dubey, Manvendra Krishna; ...

2018-01-31

Pyrotechnics (fireworks) displays are common for many cultures worldwide, with Independence Day celebrations occurring annually on July 4th as the most notable in the U.S. Given an episodic nature, fireworks aerosol properties are poorly characterized. Here we report observations of optical properties of fresh smoke emissions from Independence Day fireworks smoke sampled at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico U.S.A. on 4–5 July 2016. Aerosol optical properties were measured with a photoacoustic extinctiometer (PAX, DMT, Inc., Model 870 nm) at low RH < 30% and a humidity controlled nephelometry system (Ecotech, Inc., 450 nm Aurora). ‘Dry’ light scattering coefficient (σsp)more » increased from background < 15 Mm –1 reaching 120 Mm –1 (450 nm) as a 2-min event peak, while the absorption coefficient increased from background of 0.5–4.4 Mm –1 (870 nm). The event peak occurred at 00:35 on 5 July 2016, ~3 h after local fireworks events, and decreased to background by 04:00 on 5 July 2016, showing well mixed aerosol properties. A notable result is that the aerosol hygroscopic response, as characterized by the ratio of wet to dry light scattering or f(RH = 85%), declined to 1.02 at the peak fireworks influence from a background ~1.7. Strong wavelength dependence of light scattering with Ångström exponent ~2.2 throughout the event showed a size distribution dominated by sub-micrometer particles. Likewise, single scattering albedo at 870 nm remained constant throughout the event with ω = 0.86 ± 0.03, indicating light absorbing carbon, though not dominant, was mixed with organic carbon. Subsequent laboratory testing with ground-level sparklers showed that pyrotechnics smoke can generate a strong hygroscopic response, however. As confirmed with chemical analysis, the chemistry of the fireworks was key to defining the hygroscopic response. As a result, sparkler smoke was dominated by salt species such as hygroscopic potassium chloride while it lacked

Low hygroscopicity of ambient fresh carbonaceous aerosols from pyrotechnics smoke

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carrico, Christian M.; Gomez, Samantha Laray; Dubey, Manvendra Krishna

Pyrotechnics (fireworks) displays are common for many cultures worldwide, with Independence Day celebrations occurring annually on July 4th as the most notable in the U.S. Given an episodic nature, fireworks aerosol properties are poorly characterized. Here we report observations of optical properties of fresh smoke emissions from Independence Day fireworks smoke sampled at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico U.S.A. on 4–5 July 2016. Aerosol optical properties were measured with a photoacoustic extinctiometer (PAX, DMT, Inc., Model 870 nm) at low RH < 30% and a humidity controlled nephelometry system (Ecotech, Inc., 450 nm Aurora). ‘Dry’ light scattering coefficient (σsp)more » increased from background < 15 Mm –1 reaching 120 Mm –1 (450 nm) as a 2-min event peak, while the absorption coefficient increased from background of 0.5–4.4 Mm –1 (870 nm). The event peak occurred at 00:35 on 5 July 2016, ~3 h after local fireworks events, and decreased to background by 04:00 on 5 July 2016, showing well mixed aerosol properties. A notable result is that the aerosol hygroscopic response, as characterized by the ratio of wet to dry light scattering or f(RH = 85%), declined to 1.02 at the peak fireworks influence from a background ~1.7. Strong wavelength dependence of light scattering with Ångström exponent ~2.2 throughout the event showed a size distribution dominated by sub-micrometer particles. Likewise, single scattering albedo at 870 nm remained constant throughout the event with ω = 0.86 ± 0.03, indicating light absorbing carbon, though not dominant, was mixed with organic carbon. Subsequent laboratory testing with ground-level sparklers showed that pyrotechnics smoke can generate a strong hygroscopic response, however. As confirmed with chemical analysis, the chemistry of the fireworks was key to defining the hygroscopic response. As a result, sparkler smoke was dominated by salt species such as hygroscopic potassium chloride while it lacked

Measurement of aerosol chemical, physical and radiative properties in the Yangtze delta region of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jin; Bergin, M. H.; Yu, X.; Liu, G.; Zhao, J.; Carrico, C. M.; Baumann, K.

In order to understand the possible influence of aerosols on the environment in the agricultural Yangtze delta region of China, a one-month field sampling campaign was carried out during November 1999 in Linan, China. Measurements included the aerosol light scattering coefficient at 530 nm, σsp, measured at both dry relative humidity (RH<40%) and under ambient conditions (sample RH=63±19%), and the absorption coefficient at 565 nm, σap, for aerosol particles having diameters <2.5 μm (PM 2.5). At the same time, daily filter samples of PM 2.5 as well as aerosol particles having diameters <10 μm (PM 10) were collected and analyzed for mass, major ion, organic compound (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations in order to determine which anthropogenic chemical species were primarily responsible for aerosol light extinction. The aerosol loading in the rural Yangtze delta region was comparable to highly polluted urban areas, with mean and standard deviation (S.D.) values for σsp, σap and PM 2.5 of 353 Mm -1 (202 Mm -1), 23 Mm -1 (14 Mm -1) and 90 μg m -3 (47 μg m -3), respectively. A clear diurnal pattern was observed in σsp and σap with minimum values occurring in the middle of the day, most likely associated with the maximum midday mixing height. The ratio of the change in light scattering coefficient at ambient RH to that at controlled RH (RH<40%), Fσsp (RH), indicates that condensed water typically contributed ˜40% to the light scattering budget in this region. The mass scattering efficiency of the dry aerosol, E scat_2.5, and mass absorption efficiency of EC, E abs_2.5, have mean and S.D. values of 4.0 m 2 g -1 (0.4 m 2 g -1) and 8.6 m 2 g -1 (7.0 m 2 g -1), respectively. PM 2.5 concentrations in Linan and two other locations in the Yangtze delta, Sheshan and Changshu (which have monthly mean values ranging from ˜80 to 110 μg m -3), are all significantly higher than the proposed 24-h average US PM 2.5 NAAQS of 65 μg m -3. Organic compounds are

In-Situ and Remotely-Sensed Observations of Biomass Burning Aerosols at Doi Ang Khang, Thailand During 7-SEAS BASELInE 2015

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sayer, Andrew M.; Hsu, N. Christina; Hsiao, Ta-Chih; Pantina, Peter; Kuo, Ferret; Ou-Yang, Chang-Feng; Holben, Brent N.; Janjai, Serm; Chantara, Somporn; Wang, Sheng-Hsiang;

Light absorption by secondary organic aerosol from α-pinene: Effects of oxidants, seed aerosol acidity, and relative humidity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Song, Chen; Gyawali, Madhu; Zaveri, Rahul A.

2013-10-25

It is well known that light absorption from dust and black carbon aerosols has a warming effect on climate while light scattering from sulfate, nitrate, and sea salt aerosols has a cooling effect. However, there are large uncertainties associated with light absorption and scattering by different types of organic aerosols, especially in the near-UV and UV spectral regions. In this paper, we present the results from a systematic laboratory study focused on measuring light absorption by secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) generated from dark α-pinene + O 3 and α-pinene + NO x + O 3 systems in the presence ofmore » neutral and acidic sulfate seed aerosols. Light absorption was monitored using photoacoustic spectrometers at four different wavelengths: 355, 405, 532, and 870 nm. Significant light absorption at 355 and 405 nm was observed for the SOA formed from α-pinene + O 3 + NO 3 system only in the presence of highly acidic sulfate seed aerosols under dry conditions. In contrast, no absorption was observed when the relative humidity was elevated to greater than 27% or in the presence of neutral sulfate seed aerosols. Organic nitrates in the SOA formed in the presence of neutral sulfate seed aerosols were found to be nonabsorbing, while the light-absorbing compounds are speculated to be aldol condensation oligomers with nitroxy organosulfate groups that are formed in highly acidic sulfate aerosols. Finally and overall, these results suggest that dark α-pinene + O 3 and α-pinene + NO x + O 3 systems do not form light-absorbing SOA under typical atmospheric conditions.« less

Polar and non-polar organic aerosols from large-scale agricultural-waste burning emissions in Northern India: Implications to organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio.

PubMed

Rajput, Prashant; Sarin, M M

2014-05-01

This study focuses on characteristics of organic aerosols (polar and non-polar) and total organic mass-to-organic carbon ratio (OM/OC) from post-harvest agricultural-waste (paddy- and wheat-residue) burning emissions in Northern India. Aerosol samples from an upwind location (Patiala: 30.2°N, 76.3°E) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain were analyzed for non-polar and polar fractions of organic carbon (OC1 and OC2) and their respective mass (OM1 and OM2). On average, polar organic aerosols (OM2) contribute nearly 85% of the total organic mass (OM) from the paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. The water-soluble-OC (WSOC) to OC2 ratio, within the analytical uncertainty, is close to 1 from both paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. However, temporal variability and relatively low WSOC/OC2 ratio (Av: 0.67±0.06) is attributed to high moisture content and poor combustion efficiency during paddy-residue burning, indicating significant contribution (∼30%) of aromatic carbon to OC2. The OM/OC ratio for non-polar (OM1/OC1∼1.2) and polar organic aerosols (OM2/OC2∼2.2), hitherto unknown for open agricultural-waste burning emissions, is documented in this study. The total OM/OC ratio is nearly identical, 1.9±0.2 and 1.8±0.2, from paddy- and wheat-residue burning emissions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lidar measurements of stratospheric aerosols over Menlo Park, California, October 1972 - March 1974

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Viezee, W.; Hake, R. D.

1974-01-01

During an 18-month period, 30 nighttime observations of stratospheric aerosols were made using a ground based ruby lidar located near the Pacific coast of central California (37.5 deg. N, 122.2 deg. W). Vertical profiles of the lidar scattering ratio and the particulate backscattering coefficient were obtained by reference to a layer of assumed negligible particulate content. An aerosol layer centered near 21 km was clearly evident in all observations, but its magnitude and vertical distribution varied considerably throughout the observation period. A reduction of particulate backscattering in the 23- to 30-km layer during late January 1973 appears to have been associated with the sudden stratospheric warming which occurred at that time.

The Measurement of Aerosol Optical Properties Using Continuous Wave Cavity Ring-Down Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strawa, A. W.; Owano, T.; Castaneda, R.; Baer, D. S.; Paldus, B. A.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Large uncertainties in the effects that aerosols have on climate require improved in-situ measurements of extinction coefficient and single-scattering albedo. This abstract describes the use of continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) technology to address this problem. The innovations in this instrument are the use of CW-CRD to measure aerosol extinction coefficient, the simultaneous measurement of scattering coefficient, and small size suitable for a wide range of aircraft applications. Our prototype instrument measures extinction and scattering coefficient at 690 nm and extinction coefficient at 1550 nm. The instrument itself is small (60 x 48 x 15 cm) and relatively insensitive to vibrations. The prototype instrument has been tested in our lab and used in the field. While improvements in performance are needed, the prototype has been shown to make accurate and sensitive measurements of extinction and scattering coefficients. Combining these two parameters, one can obtain the single-scattering albedo and absorption coefficient, both important aerosol properties. The use of two wavelengths also allows us to obtain a quantitative idea of the size of the aerosol through the Angstrom exponent. Minimum sensitivity of the prototype instrument is 1.5 x 10(exp -6)/m (1.5/Mm). Validation of the measurement of extinction coefficient has been accomplished by comparing the measurement of calibration spheres with Mie calculations. This instrument and its successors have potential to help reduce uncertainty currently associated with aerosol optical properties and their spatial and temporal variation. Possible applications include studies of visibility, climate forcing by aerosol, and the validation of aerosol retrieval schemes from satellite data.

The versatility of limb scattered sunlight measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourassa, A. E.; Degenstein, D. A.; Sioris, C.; Rieger, L. A.; Zawada, D.

2017-12-01

Vertically resolved measurements of limb scattered sunlight spectra in the UV-Vis-NIR spectral range have been made from several satellite instruments in low earth orbit for many years, and there has been much success in using these measurements for retrievals of trace gas and aerosol from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere. Due in a large part to improvements in radiative transfer modelling, the versatility of the limb scatter measurement has continued to grow over the last several years. Using OSIRIS and OMPS instruments as primary examples, this talk will review the current capability of limb scatter measurements, and highlight recent results on ozone variability and trends in the UTLS, the continuation of the aerosol extinction record, NO2 distributions in the upper troposphere, and a new tomographic retrieval of ozone from the OMPS measurements. The future of limb scatter observations will also be discussed, including the development of two new Canadian suborbital instrument concepts that are targeted at high spatial resolution UTLS water vapor and cloud/aerosol measurements.

Aerosol Lidar and MODIS Satellite Comparisons for Future Aerosol Loading Forecast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeYoung, Russell; Szykman, James; Severance, Kurt; Chu, D. Allen; Rosen, Rebecca; Al-Saadi, Jassim

2006-01-01

Knowledge of the concentration and distribution of atmospheric aerosols using both airborne lidar and satellite instruments is a field of active research. An aircraft based aerosol lidar has been used to study the distribution of atmospheric aerosols in the California Central Valley and eastern US coast. Concurrently, satellite aerosol retrievals, from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites, were take over the Central Valley. The MODIS Level 2 aerosol data product provides retrieved ambient aerosol optical properties (e.g., optical depth (AOD) and size distribution) globally over ocean and land at a spatial resolution of 10 km. The Central Valley topography was overlaid with MODIS AOD (5x5 sq km resolution) and the aerosol scattering vertical profiles from a lidar flight. Backward air parcel trajectories for the lidar data show that air from the Pacific and northern part of the Central Valley converge confining the aerosols to the lower valley region and below the mixed layer. Below an altitude of 1 km, the lidar aerosol and MODIS AOD exhibit good agreement. Both data sets indicate a high presence of aerosols near Bakersfield and the Tehachapi Mountains. These and other results to be presented indicate that the majority of the aerosols are below the mixed layer such that the MODIS AOD should correspond well with surface measurements. Lidar measurements will help interpret satellite AOD retrievals so that one day they can be used on a routine basis for prediction of boundary layer aerosol pollution events.

Diurnal Evolution of Aerosol Optical Properties and Morphology at Pico Tres Padres: A Phenomenological Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzoleni, C.; Chakrabarty, R.; Dubey, M. K.; Moosmuller, H.; Chylek, P.; Onasch, T. B.; Herndon, S.; Zavala, M.; Kolb, C.

2007-05-01

Aerosol optical properties affect planetary radiative balance and therefore climate. The optical properties are related to chemical composition, size distribution, and morphology, which also have implications for human health and environmental degradation. During the MILAGRO field campaign, we measured ensemble aerosol absorption and angle-integrated scattering in Mexico City. These measurements were performed using the Los Alamos aerosol photoacoustic instrument with an integrated nephelometer (LAPA) operating at 781 nm. The LAPA was mounted on-board the Aerodyne Inc. mobile laboratory, which hosted a wide variety of gaseous and aerosol instruments. During the campaign, the Aerodyne mobile laboratory was moved to different sites, capturing the influence of spatial and temporal parameters including location, aging, elevation, and sources on ambient air pollution. The LAPA operated almost continuously between the 3rd and the 28th of March 2006. During the same period we collected ambient aerosols on more than 100 Nuclepore filters for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Filter samples were collected during specific pollution events and different times of the day. Subsequently, SEM images of selected filters were taken to study particle morphology. The elemental composition of a few individual particles was also qualitatively assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Between March 7th and 19th the laboratory was sampling air close to the top of the Pico Tres Padres, a ~3000 m high mountain on the north side of the Mexico City. Daily changes of aerosol loading and pollutant concentrations followed the expected diurnal variations of the boundary layer height. Here we report a preliminary analysis of aerosol absorption, scattering, and morphology at Pico Tres Padres for three specific days (9th, 11th and 12th of March 2006). The single scattering albedo (ratio of scattering to total extinction) during these three days showed a characteristic drop in the

[Aerosol optical properties during different air-pollution episodes over Beijing].

PubMed

Shi, Chan-Zhen; Yu, Xing-Na; Zhou, Bin; Xiang, Lei; Nie, Hao-Hao

2013-11-01

Based on the 2005-2011 data from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), this study conducted analysis on aerosol optical properties over Beijing during different air-pollution episodes (biomass burning, CNY firework, dust storm). The aerosol optical depth (AOD) showed notable increases in the air-pollution episodes while the AOD (at 440 nm) during dust storm was 4. 91, 4. 07 and 2.65 times higher as background, biomass burning and firework aerosols. AOD along with Angstrom exponent (alpha) can be used to determine the aerosol types. The dust aerosol had the highest AOD and the lowest alpha. The alpha value of firework (1.09) was smaller than biomass burning (1.21) and background (1.27), indicating that coarse particles were dominant in the former type. Higher AOD of burnings (than background) can be attributed to the optical extinction capability of black carbon aerosol. The single scattering albedo (SSA) was insensitive to wavelength. The SSA value of dust (0.934) was higher than background (0.878), biomass burning (0.921) and firework (0.905). Additionally, the extremely large SSA of burnings here maybe was caused by the aging smoke, hygroscopic growth and so on. The peak radius of aerosol volume size distributions were 0.1-0.2 microm and 2.24 -3.85 microm in clear and polluted conditions. The value of volume concentration ratio between coarse and fine particles was in the order of clear background (1.04), biomass burning (1.10), CNY firework (1.91) and dust storm (4.96) episode.

Characterizing the Vertical Distribution of Aerosols using Ground-based Multiwavelength Lidar Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Thorsen, T. J.; Clayton, M.; Mueller, D.; Chemyakin, E.; Burton, S. P.; Goldsmith, J.; Holz, R.; Kuehn, R.; Eloranta, E. W.; Marais, W.; Newsom, R. K.; Liu, X.; Sawamura, P.; Holben, B. N.; Hostetler, C. A.

2016-12-01

Observations of aerosol optical and microphysical properties are critical for developing and evaluating aerosol transport model parameterizations and assessing global aerosol-radiation impacts on climate. During the Combined HSRL And Raman lidar Measurement Study (CHARMS), we investigated the synergistic use of ground-based Raman lidar and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) measurements to retrieve aerosol properties aloft. Continuous (24/7) operation of these co-located lidars during the ten-week CHARMS mission (mid-July through September 2015) allowed the acquisition of a unique, multiwavelength ground-based lidar dataset for studying aerosol properties above the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The ARM Raman lidar measured profiles of aerosol backscatter, extinction and depolarization at 355 nm as well as profiles of water vapor mixing ratio and temperature. The University of Wisconsin HSRL simultaneously measured profiles of aerosol backscatter, extinction and depolarization at 532 nm and aerosol backscatter at 1064 nm. Recent advances in both lidar retrieval theory and algorithm development demonstrate that vertically-resolved retrievals using such multiwavelength lidar measurements of aerosol backscatter and extinction can help constrain both the aerosol optical (e.g. complex refractive index, scattering, etc.) and microphysical properties (e.g. effective radius, concentrations) as well as provide qualitative aerosol classification. Based on this work, the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) HSRL group developed automated algorithms for classifying and retrieving aerosol optical and microphysical properties, demonstrated these retrievals using data from the unique NASA/LaRC airborne multiwavelength HSRL-2 system, and validated the results using coincident airborne in situ data. We apply these algorithms to the CHARMS multiwavelength (Raman+HSRL) lidar dataset to retrieve aerosol properties above the SGP site. We present some profiles of aerosol effective

Seasonal and spatial variability of the OM/OC mass ratios and high regional correlation between oxalic acid and zinc in Chinese urban organic aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, L.; Fu, T.-M.; Cao, J. J.; Lee, S. C.; Wang, G. H.; Ho, K. F.; Cheng, M.-C.; You, C.-F.; Wang, T. J.

2013-04-01

We calculated the organic matter to organic carbon mass ratios (OM/OC mass ratios) in PM2.5 collected from 14 Chinese cities during summer and winter of 2003 and analyzed the causes for their seasonal and spatial variability. The OM/OC mass ratios were calculated two ways. Using a mass balance method, the calculated OM/OC mass ratios averaged 1.92 ± 0.39 year-round, with no significant seasonal or spatial variation. The second calculation was based on chemical species analyses of the organic compounds extracted from the PM2.5 samples using dichloromethane/methanol and water. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in summer was relatively high (1.75 ± 0.13) and spatially-invariant due to vigorous photochemistry and secondary organic aerosol (OA) production throughout the country. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in winter (1.59 ± 0.18) was significantly lower than that in summer, with lower values in northern cities (1.51 ± 0.07) than in southern cities (1.65 ± 0.15). This likely reflects the wider usage of coal for heating purposes in northern China in winter, in contrast to the larger contributions from biofuel and biomass burning in southern China in winter. On average, organic matter constituted 36% and 34% of Chinese urban PM2.5 mass in summer and winter, respectively. We report, for the first time, a high regional correlation between Zn and oxalic acid in Chinese urban aerosols in summer. This is consistent with the formation of stable Zn oxalate complex in the aerosol phase previously proposed by Furukawa and Takahashi (2011). We found that many other dicarboxylic acids were also highly correlated with Zn in the summer Chinese urban aerosol samples, suggesting that they may also form stable organic complexes with Zn. Such formation may have profound implications for the atmospheric abundance and hygroscopic properties of aerosol dicarboxylic acids.

Spatial Variability of AERONET Aerosol Optical Properties and Satellite Data in South Korea during NASA DRAGON-Asia Campaign.

PubMed

Lee, Hyung Joo; Son, Youn-Suk

2016-04-05

We investigated spatial variability in aerosol optical properties, including aerosol optical depth (AOD), fine-mode fraction (FMF), and single scattering albedo (SSA), observed at 21 Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites and satellite remote sensing data in South Korea during the spring of 2012. These dense AERONET networks established in a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field campaign enabled us to examine the spatially detailed aerosol size distribution and composition as well as aerosol levels. The springtime particle air quality was characterized by high background aerosol levels and high contributions of coarse-mode aerosols to total aerosols. We found that between-site correlations and coefficient of divergence for AOD and FMF strongly relied on the distance between sites, particularly in the south-north direction. Higher AOD was related to higher population density and lower distance from highways, and the aerosol size distribution and composition reflected source-specific characteristics. The ratios of satellite NO2 to AOD, which indicate the relative contributions of local combustion sources to aerosol levels, represented higher local contributions in metropolitan Seoul and Pusan. Our study demonstrates that the aerosol levels were determined by both local and regional pollution and that the relative contributions of these pollutions to aerosols generated spatial heterogeneity in the particle air quality.

Aerosol optical properties at rural background area in Western Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lihavainen, H.; Alghamdi, M. A.; Hyvärinen, A.; Hussein, T.; Neitola, K.; Khoder, M.; Abdelmaksoud, A. S.; Al-Jeelani, H.; Shabbaj, I. I.; Almehmadi, F. M.

2017-11-01

To derive the comprehensive aerosol in situ characteristics at a rural background area in Saudi Arabia, an aerosol measurements station was established to Hada Al Sham, 60 km east from the Red Sea and the city of Jeddah. The present sturdy describes the observational data from February 2013 to February 2015 of scattering and absorption coefficients, Ångström exponents and single scattering albedo over the measurement period. The average scattering and absorption coefficients at wavelength 525 nm were 109 ± 71 Mm- 1 (mean ± SD, at STP conditions) and 15 ± 17 Mm- 1 (at STP conditions), respectively. As expected, the scattering coefficient was dominated by large desert dust particles with low Ångström scattering exponent, 0.49 ± 0.62. Especially from February to June the Ångström scattering exponent was clearly lower (0.23) and scattering coefficients higher (124 Mm- 1) than total averages because of the dust outbreak season. Aerosol optical properties had clear diurnal cycle. The lowest scattering and absorption coefficients and aerosol optical depths were observed around noon. The observed diurnal variation is caused by wind direction and speed, during night time very calm easterly winds are dominating whereas during daytime the stronger westerly winds are dominating (sea breeze). Positive Matrix Factorization mathematical tool was applied to the scattering and absorption coefficients and PM2.5 and coarse mode (PM10-PM2.5) mass concentrations to identify source characteristics. Three different factors with clearly different properties were found; anthropogenic, BC source and desert dust. Mass absorption efficiencies for BC source and desert dust factors were, 6.0 m2 g- 1 and 0.4 m2 g- 1, respectively, and mass scattering efficiencies for anthropogenic (sulphate) and desert dust, 2.5 m2 g- 1 and 0.8 m2 g- 1, respectively.

Measuring Aerosol Optical Properties with the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veefkind, J. P.; Torres, O.; Syniuk, A.; Decae, R.; deLeeuw, G.

2003-01-01

The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is the Dutch-Finnish contribution to the NASA EOS-Aura mission scheduled for launch in January 2004. OM1 is an imaging spectrometer that will measure the back-scattered Solar radiance between 270 an 500 nm. With its relatively high spatial resolution (13x24 sq km at nadir) and daily global coverage. OM1 will make a major contribution to our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and to climate research. OM1 will provide data continuity with the TOMS instruments. One of the pleasant surprises of the TOMS data record was its information on aerosol properties. First, only the absorbing aerosol index, which is sensitive to elevated lay- ers of aerosols such as desert dust and smoke aerosols, was derived. Recently these methods were further improved to yield aerosol optical thickness and single scattering albedo over land and ocean for 19 years of TOMS data (1979-1992,1997-2002), making it one of the longest and most valuable time series for aerosols presently available. Such long time series are essential to quantify the effect of aerosols on the Earth& climate. The OM1 instrument is better suited to measure aerosols than the TOMS instruments because of the smaller footprint, and better spectral coverage. The better capabilities of OMI will enable us to provide an improved aerosol product, but the knowledge will also be used for further analysis of the aerosol record from TOMS. The OM1 aerosol product that is currently being developed for OM1 combines the TOMS experience and the multi-spectral techniques that are used in the visible and near infrared. The challenge for this new product is to provide aerosol optical thickness and single scattering albedo from the near ultraviolet to the visible (330-500 nm) over land and ocean. In this presentation the methods for deriving the OM1 aerosol product will be presented. Part of these methods developed for OM1 can already be applied to TOMS data and results of such analysis will be shown.

Measurement of phase function of aerosol at different altitudes by CCD Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Peiyu; Yuan, Ke'e.; Yang, Jie; Hu, Shunxing

2018-02-01

The aerosols near the ground are closely related to human health and climate change, the study on which has important significance. As we all know, the aerosol is inhomogeneous at different altitudes, of which the phase function is also different. In order to simplify the retrieval algorithm, it is usually assumed that the aerosol is uniform at different altitudes, which will bring measurement error. In this work, an experimental approach is demonstrated to measure the scattering phase function of atmospheric aerosol particles at different heights by CCD lidar system, which could solve the problem of the traditional CCD lidar system in assumption of phase function. The phase functions obtained by the new experimental approach are used to retrieve the aerosol extinction coefficient profiles. By comparison of the aerosol extinction coefficient retrieved by Mie-scattering aerosol lidar and CCD lidar at night, the reliability of new experimental approach is verified.

Volcanic eruptions and the increases in the stratospheric aerosol content: Lidar measurements from 1982 to 1986

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hayashida, S.; Iikura, Y.; Shimizu, H.; Sasano, Y.; Nakane, H.; Sugimoto, N.; Matsui, I.; Takeuchi, N.

1986-01-01

The results of the observation for stratospheric aerosols which were carried out since the autumn of 1982 by using the NIES large lidar are described. Specifications of the lidar system are shown. The lidar has two wavelenghts of 1.06 and 0.53 micrometers. The 0.53 micrometer is mainly used for the stratospheric aerosols, because the PMT for 0.53 micrometers has higher sensitivity that that for 1.06 micrometers and the total efficiency is higher in the former. A switching circuit is used to control the PMT gain for avoiding signal induced noise in PMT. For the last four years, the stratospheric aerosol layer which was significantly perturbed by the El Chichon volcanic eruption was observed. The scattering ratio profiles observed from 1982 through 1983 are given.

Characterizing the Hygroscopicity of Nascent Sea Spray Aerosol from Synthetic Blooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forestieri, S.; Cappa, C. D.; Sultana, C. M.; Lee, C.; Wang, X.; Helgestad, T.; Moore, K.; Prather, K. A.; Cornwell, G.; Novak, G.; Bertram, T. H.

2015-12-01

Marine sea spray aerosol (SSA) particles make up a significant portion of natural aerosols and are therefore important in establishing the baseline for anthropogenic aerosol climate impacts. Scattering of solar radiation by aerosols affects Earth's radiative budget and the degree of scattering is size-dependent. Thus, aerosols scatter more light at elevated relative humidities when they grow larger via water uptake. This growth depends critically on chemical composition. SSA can become enriched in organics during phytoplankton blooms, becoming less salty and therefore less hygroscopic. Subsaturated hygroscopic growth factors at 85% relative humidity (GF(85%)) of SSA particles were quantified during two mesocosm experiments in enclosed marine aerosol reference tanks (MARTs). The two experiments were conducted with filtered seawater collected at separate times from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Pier in La Jolla, CA. Phytoplankton blooms in each tank were induced via the addition of nutrients and photosynthetically active radiation. The "indoor" MART was illuminated with fluorescent light and the other "outdoor" MART was illuminated with sunlight. The peak chlorophyll-a concentrations were 59 micrograms/L and 341 micrograms /L for the indoor and outdoor MARTs, respectively. GF(85%) values for SSA particles were quantified using a humidified cavity ringdown spectrometer and particle size distributions. Particle composition was monitored with a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) and an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). Relationships between the observed particle GFs and the particle composition markers will be discussed.

Principles in Remote Sensing of Aerosol from MODIS Over Land and Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remer, L. A.; Kaufman, Y. J.; Tanre, D.; Chu, D. A.

1999-01-01

The well-calibrated spectral radiances measured by MODIS will be processed to retrieve daily aerosol properties that include optical thickness and mass loading over land and optical thickness, the mean particle size of the dominant mode and the ratio between aerosol modes over ocean. In addition, after launch, aerosol single scattering albedo will be calculated as an experimental product. The retrieval process over land is based on a dark target method that identifies appropriate targets in the mid-IR channels and uses an empirical relationship found between the mid-ER and the visible channels to estimate surface reflectance in the visible from the mid-HZ reflectance measured by satellite. The method employs new aerosol models for industrial, smoke and dust aerosol. The process for retrieving aerosol over the ocean makes use of the wide spectral band from 0.55-2.13 microns and a look-up table constructed from combinations of five accumulation modes and five coarse modes. Both the over land and over ocean algorithms have been validated with satellite and airborne radiance measurements. We estimate that MODIS will be able to measure aerosol optical thickness (t) to within 0.05 +/- 0.2t over land and to within 0.05 +/- 0.05t over ocean. Much of the earth's surface is located far from aerosol sources and experience very low aerosol optical thickness. Will the accuracy expected from MODIS retrievals be sufficient to measure the global aerosol direct and indirect forcing? We are attempting to answer this question using global model results and cloud climatology.

Steady increase of secondary organic aerosol mass concentration and light extinction during the CARES 2010 Field Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyawali, M. S.; Arnott, W. P.; Flowers, B. A.; Dubey, M. K.; Atkinson, D. B.; Song, C.; Zaveri, R. A.; Setyan, A.; Zhang, Q.; Mazzoleni, C.; Gorkowski, K.

2011-12-01

We present multispectral (355, 375, 405, 532, 870, 781, and 1047 nm) aerosol light absorption and scattering measurements for the 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects (CARES) campaign in Sacramento, CA and the Sierra Nevada foothills. The short wavelength scattering at both sites gradually increased during the last 10 days of the campaign as diagnosed by a systematic increase in the Ångström exponent of scattering. The UV and near UV enhanced scattering was likely a consequence of the ultra and sub-micron aerosol which began to grow vigorously in the size range where scattering at shorter wavelengths begins to increase. Multispectral aerosol light absorption coefficients suggest the absence of short wavelength light absorption by brown carbon. Aerosol mass spectrometer data also shows the steady increase of secondary organic aerosol during the last 10 days of CARES. The time series of the measurements made between the two sites (T0 and T1) separated by the slope of the foothills are strikingly similar, except for isolated night time episodes of enhanced absorption at T0. This is possibly due to paving events or other nocturnal emissions markers

The Measurement of Aerosol Optical Properties using Continuous Wave Cavity Ring-Down Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strawa, Anthony W.; Castaneda, Rene; Owano, Thomas; Baer, Douglas S.; Paldus, Barbara A.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Large uncertainties in the effects that aerosols have on climate require improved in situ measurements of extinction coefficient and single-scattering albedo. This paper describes the use of continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) technology to address this problem. The innovations in this instrument are the use of CW-CRD to measure aerosol extinction coefficient, the simultaneous measurement of scattering coefficient, and small size suitable for a wide range of aircraft applications. Our prototype instrument measures extinction and scattering coefficient at 690 nm and extinction coefficient at 1550 nm. The instrument itself is small (60 x 48 x 15 cm) and relatively insensitive to vibrations. The prototype instrument has been tested in our lab and used in the field. While improvements in performance are needed, the prototype has been shown to make accurate and sensitive measurements of extinction and scattering coefficients. Combining these two parameters, one can obtain the single-scattering albedo and absorption coefficient, both important aerosol properties. The use of two wavelengths also allows us to obtain a quantitative idea of the size of the aerosol through the Angstrom exponent. Minimum sensitivity of the prototype instrument is 1.5 x 10(exp -6)/m (1.5 M/m). Validation of the measurement of extinction coefficient has been accomplished by comparing the measurement of calibration spheres with Mie calculations. This instrument and its successors have potential to help reduce uncertainty currently associated with aerosol optical properties and their spatial and temporal variation. Possible applications include studies of visibility, climate forcing by aerosol, and the validation of aerosol retrieval schemes from satellite data.

Visibility in the Netherlands during New Year's fireworks: The role of soot and salty aerosol products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

ten Brink, Harry; Henzing, Bas; Otjes, René; Weijers, Ernie

2018-01-01

The visibility on New Year's nights in the Netherlands is low during stagnant weather. This is due to the scattering and absorption of light by the aerosol-smoke from the fireworks. We made an assessment of the responsible aerosol-species. The investigation took place during the New Year's night of 2009. Measurements were made at a regional site in the centre of the country away from specific local sources. An Integrating Nephelometer measured the light-scattering by the inherent compounds after removal of water from the aerosol by drying the air. The actual light-scattering was determined in an open-air scatterometer; it was a factor of five higher than the ;dry; value. The difference in actual and ;dry; light-scattering can only be explained by water-uptake of the salty hygroscopic components of the aerosol. This hypothesis is substantiated by measurements of the composition of the aerosol. The size-dependent concentrations of the salty ionic species were determined on-line with a MARGA-;sizer;. These components were for a large part in particles in the size range that most effectively scatter light. The ;dry; light-scattering was exerted by the inorganic salt components and the sooty carbonaceous material alike. However, the salty products from the fireworks are hygroscopic and take up water at the high relative humidities occurring that night. This explains the fivefold larger light-scattering by the wet ambient aerosol as compared to that by the dry aerosol in the integrating nephelometer. The visibility, which is the inverse of the open-air scattering, is thus indirectly governed by the salty products of the fireworks due to their uptake of water. Under stagnant weather conditions during New Year's nights in the Netherlands both the aerosol concentrations and the relative humidity are high; this implies that the ionic species govern the low visibilities in general, be it via their uptake of water.

Remote Sensing of Aerosol and Non-Aerosol Absorption

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Y. J.; Dubovik, O.; Holben, B. N.; Remer, L. A.; Tanre, D.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Remote sensing of aerosol from the new satellite instruments (e.g. MODIS from Terra) and ground based radiometers (e.g. the AERONET) provides the opportunity to measure the absorption characteristics of the ambient undisturbed aerosol in the entire atmospheric column. For example Landsat and AERONET data are used to measure spectral absorption of sunlight by dust from West Africa. Both Application of the Landsat and AERONET data demonstrate that Saharan dust absorption of solar radiation is several times smaller than the current international standards. This is due to difficulties of measuring dust absorption in situ, and due to the often contamination of dust properties by the presence of air pollution or smoke. We use the remotely sensed aerosol absorption properties described by the spectral sin le scattering albedo, together with statistics of the monthly optical thickness for the fine and coarse aerosol derived from the MODIS data. The result is an estimate of the flux of solar radiation absorbed by the aerosol layer in different regions around the globe where aerosol is prevalent. If this aerosol forcing through absorption is not included in global circulation models, it may be interpreted as anomalous absorption in these regions. In a preliminary exercise we also use the absorption measurements by AERONET, to derive the non-aerosol absorption of the atmosphere in cloud free conditions. The results are obtained for the atmospheric windows: 0.44 microns, 0.66 microns, 0.86 microns and 1.05 microns. In all the locations over the land and ocean that were tested no anomalous absorption in these wavelengths, was found within absorption optical thickness of +/- 0.005.

X-ray Vision for Aerosol Scientists: LCLS Snapshots of Soot (Narrated)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-22

This short conceptual animation depicts how scientists can now simultaneously capture fractal morphology (structure), chemical composition and nanoscale imagery of individual aerosol particles in flight. These particles, known as "PM2.5" because they are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, affect climate by interacting with sunlight and impact human health by entering the lungs. The single LCLS laser pulses travel to the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences (AMO) laboratory in the Near Experimental Hall. As we zoom in, we see deep inside a simplified aerosol inlet, where the complex fractal structure of the soot particles, each one completely unique, is shown.more » Individual soot particles are then delivered into the pulses of the LCLS beam, which destroys them. X-rays are scattered to the detector before the particle is destroyed, giving information about the morphology of the particle. Ion fragments released in the explosion are sent into a mass spectrometer, which measures their mass-to-charge ratio -- giving scientists information about the chemical composition of the particle. Many different particles are analyzed in this manner, allowing scientists to probe variations in the particles due to changes in their environment before being sent through the aerosol inlet. The final visual of aerosols emitted from a factory is representative of the goal that such LCLS aerosol dynamics experiments can provide critical feedback into modeling and understanding combustion, aerosol processes in manufacturing or aerosol effects on climate change.« less

X-ray Vision for Aerosol Scientists: LCLS Snapshots of Soot (Narrated)

ScienceCinema

None

2018-01-26

This short conceptual animation depicts how scientists can now simultaneously capture fractal morphology (structure), chemical composition and nanoscale imagery of individual aerosol particles in flight. These particles, known as "PM2.5" because they are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, affect climate by interacting with sunlight and impact human health by entering the lungs. The single LCLS laser pulses travel to the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences (AMO) laboratory in the Near Experimental Hall. As we zoom in, we see deep inside a simplified aerosol inlet, where the complex fractal structure of the soot particles, each one completely unique, is shown. Individual soot particles are then delivered into the pulses of the LCLS beam, which destroys them. X-rays are scattered to the detector before the particle is destroyed, giving information about the morphology of the particle. Ion fragments released in the explosion are sent into a mass spectrometer, which measures their mass-to-charge ratio -- giving scientists information about the chemical composition of the particle. Many different particles are analyzed in this manner, allowing scientists to probe variations in the particles due to changes in their environment before being sent through the aerosol inlet. The final visual of aerosols emitted from a factory is representative of the goal that such LCLS aerosol dynamics experiments can provide critical feedback into modeling and understanding combustion, aerosol processes in manufacturing or aerosol effects on climate change.

Particle size distribution of the stratospheric aerosol from SCIAMACHY limb measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozanov, Alexei; Malinina, Elizaveta; Bovensmann, Heinrich; Burrows, John

2017-04-01

A crucial role of the stratospheric aerosols for the radiative budget of the Earth's atmosphere and the consequences for the climate change are widely recognized. A reliable knowledge on physical and optical properties of the stratospheric aerosols as well as on their vertical and spatial distributing is a key issue to assure a proper initialization and running conditions for climate models. On a global scale this information can only be gained from space borne measurements. While a series of past, present and future instruments provide extensive date sets of such aerosol characteristics as extinction coefficient or backscattering ratio, information on a size distribution of the stratospheric aerosols is sparse. One of the important sources on vertically and spatially resolved information on the particle size distribution of stratospheric aerosols is provided by space borne measurements of the scattered solar light in limb viewing geometry performed in visible, near-infrared and short-wave infrared spectral ranges. SCIAMACHY (SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY) instrument operated on the European satellite Envisat from 2002 to 2102 was capable of providing spectral information needed to retrieve parameters of aerosol particle size distributions. In this presentation we discuss the retrieval method, present first validation results with SAGE II data and analyze first data sets of stratospheric aerosol particle size distribution parameters obtained from SCIAMACHY limb measurements. The research work was performed in the framework of ROMIC (Role of the middle atmosphere in climate) project.

RACORO aerosol data processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elisabeth Andrews

2011-10-31

The RACORO aerosol data (cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), condensation nuclei (CN) and aerosol size distributions) need further processing to be useful for model evaluation (e.g., GCM droplet nucleation parameterizations) and other investigations. These tasks include: (1) Identification and flagging of 'splash' contaminated Twin Otter aerosol data. (2) Calculation of actual supersaturation (SS) values in the two CCN columns flown on the Twin Otter. (3) Interpolation of CCN spectra from SGP and Twin Otter to 0.2% SS. (4) Process data for spatial variability studies. (5) Provide calculated light scattering from measured aerosol size distributions. Below we first briefly describe the measurementsmore » and then describe the results of several data processing tasks that which have been completed, paving the way for the scientific analyses for which the campaign was designed. The end result of this research will be several aerosol data sets which can be used to achieve some of the goals of the RACORO mission including the enhanced understanding of cloud-aerosol interactions and improved cloud simulations in climate models.« less

Airborne lidar measurements of El Chichon stratospheric aerosols, October 1982 to November 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccormick, M. P.; Osborn, M. T.

1985-01-01

A coordinated flight mission to determine the spatial distribution and aerosol characteristics of the El Chichon produced stratospheric aerosol was flown in October to November 1982. The mission covered 46 deg N to 46 deg S and included rendezvous between balloon-, airplane-, and satellite-borne sensors. The lidar data from the flight mission are presented. Representative profiles of lidar backscatter ratio, plots of the integrated backscattering function versus latitude, and contours of backscatter mixing ratio versus altitude and latitude are given. In addition, tables containing numerical values of the backscatter ratio and backscattering functions versus altitude are supplied for each profile. The bulk of the material produced by the El Chichon eruptions of late March 10 to early April 1982 resided between latitudes from 5 to 7 deg S to 35 to 37 deg N and was concentrated above 21 km in a layer that peaked at 23 to 25 km. In this latitude region, peak scattering ratios at a wavelength of 0.6943 micron were approximately 24. The results of this mission are presented in a ready-to-use format for atmospheric and climatic studies.

Aerosol Correction for Improving OMPS/LP Ozone Retrieval

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Zhong; Bhartia, Pawan K.; Loughman, Robert

2015-01-01

The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler (OMPS-LP) on board the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite was launched on Oct. 28, 2011. Limb profilers measures the radiance scattered from the Earth's atmospheric in limb viewing mode from 290 to 1000 nm and infer ozone profiles from tropopause to 60 km. The recently released OMPS-LP Version 2 data product contains the first publicly released ozone profiles retrievals, and these are now available for the entire OMPS mission, which extends from April, 2012. The Version 2 data product retrievals incorporate several important improvements to the algorithm. One of the primary changes is to turn off the aerosol retrieval module. The aerosol profiles retrieved inside the ozone code was not helping the ozone retrieval and was adding noise and other artifacts. Aerosols including polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) and polar mesospheric clouds (PMC) have a detectable effect on OMPS-LP data. Our results show that ignoring the aerosol contribution would produce an ozone density bias of up to 10 percent in the region of maximum aerosol extinction. Therefore, aerosol correction is needed to improve the quality of the retrieved ozone concentration profile. We provide Aerosol Scattering Index (ASI) for detecting aerosols-PMC-PSC, defined as ln(Im-Ic) normalized at 45km, where Im is the measured radiance and Ic is the calculated radiance assuming no aerosols. Since ASI varies with wavelengths, latitude and altitude, we can start by assuming no aerosol profiles in calculating the ASIs and then use the aerosol profile to see if it significantly reduces the residuals. We also discuss the effect of aerosol size distribution on the ozone profile retrieval process. Finally, we present an aerosol-PMC-PSC correction scheme.

Tropospheric Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buseck, P. R.; Schwartz, S. E.

2003-12-01

It is widely believed that "On a clear day you can see forever," as proclaimed in the 1965 Broadway musical of the same name. While an admittedly beautiful thought, we all know that this concept is only figurative. Aside from Earth's curvature and Rayleigh scattering by air molecules, aerosols - colloidal suspensions of solid or liquid particles in a gas - limit our vision. Even on the clearest day, there are billions of aerosol particles per cubic meter of air.Atmospheric aerosols are commonly referred to as smoke, dust, haze, and smog, terms that are loosely reflective of their origin and composition. Aerosol particles have arisen naturally for eons from sea spray, volcanic emissions, wind entrainment of mineral dust, wildfires, and gas-to-particle conversion of hydrocarbons from plants and dimethylsulfide from the oceans. However, over the industrial period, the natural background aerosol has been greatly augmented by anthropogenic contributions, i.e., those produced by human activities. One manifestation of this impact is reduced visibility (Figure 1). Thus, perhaps more than in other realms of geochemistry, when considering the composition of the troposphere one must consider the effects of these activities. The atmosphere has become a reservoir for vast quantities of anthropogenic emissions that exert important perturbations on it and on the planetary ecosystem in general. Consequently, much recent research focuses on the effects of human activities on the atmosphere and, through them, on the environment and Earth's climate. For these reasons consideration of the geochemistry of the atmosphere, and of atmospheric aerosols in particular, must include the effects of human activities. (201K)Figure 1. Impairment of visibility by aerosols. Photographs at Yosemite National Park, California, USA. (a) Low aerosol concentration (particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm, PM2.5=0.3 μg m-3; particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter less than 10 �

Assessing the aerosol direct and first indirect effects using ACM/GCM simulation results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, H.; Gu, Y.; Xue, Y.; Lu, C. H.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols have been found to play an important role in global climate change but there are still large uncertainty in evaluating its role in the climate system. The aerosols generally affect global and regional climate through the scattering and the absorption of solar radiation (direct effect) and through their influences on cloud particle, number and sizes (first indirect effect). The indirect effect will further affects cloud water content, cloud top albedo and surface precipitations. In this study, we investigate the global climatic effect of aerosols using a coupled NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS) and a land surface model (SSiB2) The OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds) database is used for aerosol effect. The OPAC data provides the optical properties (i.e., the extinction, scattering and absorption coefficient, single-scattering albedo, asymmetry factor and phase function) of ten types of aerosols under various relative humidity conditions for investigating the global direct and first indirect effects of dust aerosols. For indirect forcings due to liquid water, we follow the approach presented by Jiang et al (2011), in which a parameterization of cloud effective radius was calculated to describe its variance with convective strength and aerosol concentration. Since the oceans also play an important role on aerosol climatic effect, we also design a set of simulations using a coupled atmosphere/ocean model (CFS) to evaluate the sensitivity of aerosol effect with two-way atmosphere-ocean interactions.

A Comparison of Aerosol Optical Property Measurements Made During the DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period and Their Effects on Regional Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strawa, Anthony W.; Hallar, A. G.; Arnott, W. P.; Covert, D.; Elleman, R.; Ogren, J.; Schmid, B.; Luu, A.

2004-01-01

The amount of radiant energy an aerosol absorbs has profound effects on climate and air quality. It is ironic that aerosol absorption coefficient is one of the most difficult to measure aerosol properties. One of the main purposes of the DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period (IOP) flown in May, 2003 was to assess our ability to measure absorption coefficient in situ. This paper compares measurements of aerosol optical properties made during the IOP. Measurements of aerosol absorption coefficient were made by Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) aboard the CIRPAS Twin-Otter (U. Washington) and on the DOE Cessna 172 (NOAA-C,MDL). Aerosol absorption coefficient was also measured by a photoacoustic instrument (DRI) that was operated on an aircraft for the first time during the IOP. A new cavity ring-down (CRD) instrument, called Cadenza (NASA-AkC), measures the aerosol extinction coefficient for 675 nm and 1550 nm light, and simultaneously measures the scattering coefficient at 675 nm. Absorption coefficient is obtained from the difference of measured extinction and scattering within the instrument. Measurements of absorption coefficient from all of these instruments during appropriate periods are compared. During the IOP, several significant aerosol layers were sampled aloft. These layers are identified in the remote (AATS-14) as well as in situ measurements. Extinction profiles measured by Cadenza are compared to those derived from the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14, NASA-ARC). The regional radiative impact of these layers is assessed by using the measured aerosol optical properties in a radiative transfer model.

Photoacoustic optical properties at UV, VIS, and near IR wavelengths for laboratory generated and winter time ambient urban aerosols

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyawali, Madhu S.; Arnott, W. Patrick; Zaveri, Rahul A.

2012-03-08

We present the laboratory and ambient photoacoustic (PA) measurement of aerosol light absorption coefficients at ultraviolet wavelength (i.e., 355 nm) and compare with measurements at 405, 532, 870, and 1047 nm. Simultaneous measurements of aerosol light scattering coefficients were achieved by the integrating reciprocal nephelometer within the PA's acoustic resonator. Absorption and scattering measurements were carried out for various laboratory generated aerosols, including salt, incense, and kerosene soot to evaluate the instrument calibration and gain insight on the spectral dependence of aerosol light absorption and scattering. Ambient measurements were obtained in Reno, Nevada, between 18 December 2009 and 18 Januarymore » 2010. The measurement period included days with and without strong ground level temperature inversions, corresponding to highly polluted (freshly emitted aerosols) and relatively clean (aged aerosols) conditions. Particulate matter (PM) concentrations were measured and analyzed with other tracers of traffic emissions. The temperature inversion episodes caused very high concentration of PM{sub 2.5} and PM{sub 10} (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 {mu}m and 10 {mu}m, respectively) and gaseous pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}). The diurnal change of absorption and scattering coefficients during the polluted (inversion) days increased approximately by a factor of two for all wavelengths compared to the clean days. The spectral variation in aerosol absorption coefficients indicated a significant amount of absorbing aerosol from traffic emissions and residential wood burning. The analysis of single scattering albedo (SSA), Angstrom exponent of absorption (AEA), and Angstrom exponent of scattering (AES) for clean and polluted days provides evidences that the aerosol aging and coating process is suppressed by strong temperature inversion under cloudy conditions. In

Photoacoustic Optical Properties at UV, VIS, and near IR Wavelengths for Laboratory Generated and Winter Time Ambient Urban Aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gyawali, M.; Arnott, W. P.; Zaveri, R. A.; Song, C.; Moosmuller, H.; Liu, L.; Mishchenko, M. I.; Chen, L.-W.A.; Green, M. C.; Watson, J. G.;

X-ray Scattering Measurement of the Heat Capacity Ratio in Shock Compressed Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortmann, C.; Lee, H. J.; Doeppner, Tilo; Kritcher, A. L.; Landen, O. L.; Falcone, R. W.; Glenzer, S. H.

2011-10-01

We developed accurate x-ray scattering techniques to measure properties of matter under extreme conditions of density and temperature in intense laser-solid interaction experiments. We report on novel applications of x-ray scattering to measure the heat-capacity ratio γ =cp /cv of a Be plasma which determines the equation of state of the system. Ultraintense laser radiation is focussed onto both sides of a Be foil, creating two counterpropagating planar shock waves that collide in the target center. A second set of lasers produces Zn He- α radiation of 8.9 keV energy that scatters from the shock-compressed matter. We observe temperatures of 10eV and 15eV and mass densities of 5g/cm3 and 11g/cm3 before and after the shock collision. Applying the Rankine-Hugoniot relations for counterpropagating shocks we then infer γ as a function of density using only the measured mass compression ratios. Our results agree with equation of state models and DFT simulations. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. We acknowledge support from the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation.

Baseline Maritime Aerosol: Methodology to Derive the Optical Thickness and Scattering Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram J.; Smirnov, Alexander; Holben, Brent N.; Dubovik, Oleg; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Satellite Measurements of the global distribution of aerosol and their effect on climate should be viewed in respect to a baseline aerosol. In this concept, concentration of fine mode aerosol particles is elevated above the baseline by man-made activities (smoke or urban pollution), while coarse mode by natural processes (e.g. dust or sea-spray). Using 1-3 years of measurements in 10 stations of the Aerosol Robotic network (ACRONET we develop a methodology and derive the optical thickness and properties of this baseline aerosol for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Defined as the median for periods of stable optical thickness (standard deviation < 0.02) during 2-6 days, the median baseline aerosol optical thickness over the Pacific Ocean is 0.052 at 500 am with Angstrom exponent of 0.77, and 0.071 and 1.1 respectively, over the Atlantic Ocean.

Host model uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing estimates: results from the AeroCom Prescribed intercomparison study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stier, P.; Schutgens, N. A. J.; Bellouin, N.; Bian, H.; Boucher, O.; Chin, M.; Ghan, S.; Huneeus, N.; Kinne, S.; Lin, G.; Ma, X.; Myhre, G.; Penner, J. E.; Randles, C. A.; Samset, B.; Schulz, M.; Takemura, T.; Yu, F.; Yu, H.; Zhou, C.

2013-03-01

Simulated multi-model "diversity" in aerosol direct radiative forcing estimates is often perceived as a measure of aerosol uncertainty. However, current models used for aerosol radiative forcing calculations vary considerably in model components relevant for forcing calculations and the associated "host-model uncertainties" are generally convoluted with the actual aerosol uncertainty. In this AeroCom Prescribed intercomparison study we systematically isolate and quantify host model uncertainties on aerosol forcing experiments through prescription of identical aerosol radiative properties in twelve participating models. Even with prescribed aerosol radiative properties, simulated clear-sky and all-sky aerosol radiative forcings show significant diversity. For a purely scattering case with globally constant optical depth of 0.2, the global-mean all-sky top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing is -4.47 Wm-2 and the inter-model standard deviation is 0.55 Wm-2, corresponding to a relative standard deviation of 12%. For a case with partially absorbing aerosol with an aerosol optical depth of 0.2 and single scattering albedo of 0.8, the forcing changes to 1.04 Wm-2, and the standard deviation increases to 1.01 W-2, corresponding to a significant relative standard deviation of 97%. However, the top-of-atmosphere forcing variability owing to absorption (subtracting the scattering case from the case with scattering and absorption) is low, with absolute (relative) standard deviations of 0.45 Wm-2 (8%) clear-sky and 0.62 Wm-2 (11%) all-sky. Scaling the forcing standard deviation for a purely scattering case to match the sulfate radiative forcing in the AeroCom Direct Effect experiment demonstrates that host model uncertainties could explain about 36% of the overall sulfate forcing diversity of 0.11 Wm-2 in the AeroCom Direct Radiative Effect experiment. Host model errors in aerosol radiative forcing are largest in regions of uncertain host model components, such as stratocumulus

Steps Toward an EOS-Era Aerosol Type Climatology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph A.

2012-01-01

We still have a way to go to develop a global climatology of aerosol type from the EOS-era satellite data record that currently spans more than 12 years of observations. We have demonstrated the ability to retrieve aerosol type regionally, providing a classification based on the combined constraints on particle size, shape, and single-scattering albedo (SSA) from the MISR instrument. Under good but not necessarily ideal conditions, the MISR data can distinguish three-to-five size bins, two-to-four bins in SSA, and spherical vs. non-spherical particles. However, retrieval sensitivity varies enormously with scene conditions. So, for example, there is less information about aerosol type when the mid-visible aerosol optical depth (AOD) is less that about 0.15 or 0.2, or when the range of scattering angles observed is reduced by solar geometry, even though the quality of the AOD retrieval itself is much less sensitive to these factors. This presentation will review a series of studies aimed at assessing the capabilities, as well as the limitations, of MISR aerosol type retrievals involving wildfire smoke, desert dust, volcanic ash, and urban pollution, in specific cases where suborbital validation data are available. A synthesis of results, planned upgrades to the MISR Standard aerosol algorithm to improve aerosol type retrievals, and steps toward the development of an aerosol type quality flag for the Standard product, will also be covered.

Tracing the origin of pollution in French Alpine snow and aerosols using lead isotopic ratios.

PubMed

Veysseyre, A M; Bollhöfer, A F; Rosman, K J; Ferrari, C P; Boutron, C F

2001-11-15

Fresh snow samples collected at 15 remote locations and aerosols collected at one location in the French Alps between November 1998 and April 1999 have been analyzed for Pb concentration and isotopic composition by thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The snow samples contained 19-1300 pg/g of Pb with isotopic ratios 206Pb/207Pb (208Pb/207Pb) of 1.1279-1.1607 (2.3983-2.4302). Airborne Pb concentrations at one sampling site ranged from 0.42 to 6.0 ng/m3 with isotopic ratios of 1.1321-1.1427 (2.4029-2.4160). Air mass trajectory analysis combined with isotopic compositions of potential source regions did not show discernible evidence of the long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants. Isotopic ratios in the Alpine snow samples and thus the free troposphere were generally higher than airborne Pb isotopic ratios in urban France, which coupled with the relatively high Pb concentrations suggested a regional anthropogenic Pb source, probably Italy but possibly Eastern Europe.

Characterizing and Understanding Aerosol Optical Properties: CARES - Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cappa, Christopher D; Atkinson, Dean B

The scientific focus of this study was to use ambient measurements to develop new insights into the understanding of the direct radiative forcing by atmospheric aerosol particles. The study used data collected by the PI’s and others as part of both the 2010 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES), which took place in and around Sacramento, CA, and the 2012 Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) study. We focus on measurements that were made of aerosol particle optical properties, namely the wavelength-dependent light absorption, scattering and extinction. Interpretation of these optical property measurements ismore » facilitated through consideration of complementary measurements of the aerosol particle chemical composition and size distributions. With these measurements, we addressed the following general scientific questions: 1. How does light scattering and extinction by atmospheric aerosol particles depend on particle composition, water uptake, and size? 2. To what extent is light absorption by aerosol particles enhanced through the mixing of black carbon with other particulate components? 3. What relationships exist between intensive aerosol particle optical properties, and how do these depend on particle source and photochemical aging? 4. How well do spectral deconvolution methods, which are commonly used in remote sensing, retrieve information about particle size distributions?« less

In Situ Measurement of Aerosol Extinction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strawa, Anthony W.; Castaneda, R.; Owano, T. G.; Bear, D.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Aerosols are important contributors to the radiative forcing in the atmosphere. Much of the uncertainty in our knowledge of climate forcing is due to uncertainties in the radiative forcing due to aerosols as illustrated in the IPCC reports of the last ten years. Improved measurement of aerosol optical properties, therefore, is critical to an improved understanding of atmospheric radiative forcing. Additionally, attempts to reconcile in situ and remote measurements of aerosol radiative properties have generally not been successful. This is due in part to the fact that it has been impossible to measure aerosol extinction in situ in the past. In this presentation we introduce a new instrument that employs the techniques used in cavity ringdown spectroscopy to measure the aerosol extinction and scattering coefficients in situ. A prototype instrument has been designed and tested in the lab and the field. It is capable of measuring aerosol extinction coefficient to 2x10(exp -6) per meter. This prototype instrument is described and results are presented.

Critical Reflectance Derived from MODIS: Application for the Retrieval of Aerosol Absorption over Desert Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wells, Kelley C.; Martins, J. Vanderlei; Remer, Lorraine A.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Stephens, Graeme L.

2012-01-01

Aerosols are tiny suspended particles in the atmosphere that scatter and absorb sunlight. Smoke particles are aerosols, as are sea salt, particulate pollution and airborne dust. When you look down at the earth from space sometimes you can see vast palls of whitish smoke or brownish dust being transported by winds. The reason that you can see these aerosols is because they are reflecting incoming sunlight back to the view in space. The reason for the difference in color between the different types of aerosol is that the particles arc also absorbing sunlight at different wavelengths. Dust appears brownish or reddish because it absorbs light in the blue wavelengths and scatters more reddish light to space, Knowing how much light is scattered versus how much is absorbed, and knowin that as a function of wavelength is essential to being able to quantify the role aerosols play in the energy balance of the earth and in climate change. It is not easy measuring the absorption properties of aerosols when they are suspended in the atmosphere. People have been doing this one substance at a time in the laboratory, but substances mix when they are in the atmosphere and the net absorption effect of all the particles in a column of air is a goal of remote sensing that has not yet been completely successful. In this paper we use a technique based on observing the point at which aerosols change from brightening the surface beneath to darkening it. If aerosols brighten a surface. they must scatter more light to space. If they darken the surface. they must be absorbing more. That cross over point is called the critical reflectance and in this paper we show that critical reflectance is a monotonic function of the intrinsic absorption properties of the particles. This parameter we call the single scattering albedo. We apply the technique to MODIS imagery over the Sahara and Sahel regions to retrieve the single scattering albedo in seven wavelengths, compare these retrievals to ground

Measurements of Aerosol Vertical Profiles and Optical Properties during INDOEX 1999 Using Micro-Pulse Lidars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; Voss, Kenneth J.; Quinn, Patricia K.; Flatau, Piotr J.; Markowicz, Krzysztof; Campbell, James R.; Spinhirne, James D.; Gordon, Howard R.; Johnson, James E.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Micro-pulse lidar systems (MPL) were used to measure aerosol properties during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) 1999 field phase. Measurements were made from two platforms: the NOAA ship RN Ronald H. Brown, and the Kaashidhoo Climate Observatory (KCO) in the Maldives. Sunphotometers were used to provide aerosol optical depths (AOD) needed to calibrate the MPL. This study focuses on the height distribution and optical properties (at 523 nm) of aerosols observed during the campaign. The height of the highest aerosols (top height) was calculated and found to be below 4 km for most of the cruise. The marine boundary layer (MBL) top was calculated and found to be less than 1 km. MPL results were combined with air mass trajectories, radiosonde profiles of temperature and humidity, and aerosol concentration and optical measurements. Humidity varied from approximately 80% near the surface to 50% near the top height during the entire cruise. The average value and standard deviation of aerosol optical parameters were determined for characteristic air mass regimes. Marine aerosols in the absence of any continental influence were found to have an AOD of 0.05 +/- 0.03, an extinction-to-backscatter ratio (S-ratio) of 33 +/- 6 sr, and peak extinction values around 0.05/km (near the MBL top). The marine results are shown to be in agreement with previously measured and expected values. Polluted marine areas over the Indian Ocean, influenced by continental aerosols, had AOD values in excess of 0.2, S-ratios well above 40 sr, and peak extinction values approximately 0.20/km (near the MBL top). The polluted marine results are shown to be similar to previously published values for continental aerosols. Comparisons between MPL derived extinction near the ship (75 m) and extinction calculated at ship-level using scattering measured by a nephelometer and absorption using a PSAP were conducted. The comparisons indicated that the MPL algorithm (using a constant S-ratio throughout the

Intercomparison of shortwave radiative transfer schemes in global aerosol modeling: results from the AeroCom Radiative Transfer Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randles, C. A.; Kinne, S.; Myhre, G.; Schulz, M.; Stier, P.; Fischer, J.; Doppler, L.; Highwood, E.; Ryder, C.; Harris, B.; Huttunen, J.; Ma, Y.; Pinker, R. T.; Mayer, B.; Neubauer, D.; Hitzenberger, R.; Oreopoulos, L.; Lee, D.; Pitari, G.; Di Genova, G.; Quaas, J.; Rose, Fred G.; Kato, S.; Rumbold, S. T.; Vardavas, I.; Hatzianastassiou, N.; Matsoukas, C.; Yu, H.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, H.; Lu, P.

2012-12-01

In this study we examine the performance of 31 global model radiative transfer schemes in cloud-free conditions with prescribed gaseous absorbers and no aerosols (Rayleigh atmosphere), with prescribed scattering-only aerosols, and with more absorbing aerosols. Results are compared to benchmark results from high-resolution, multi-angular line-by-line radiation models. For purely scattering aerosols, model bias relative to the line-by-line models in the top-of-the atmosphere aerosol radiative forcing ranges from roughly -10 to 20%, with over- and underestimates of radiative cooling at higher and lower sun elevation, respectively. Inter-model diversity (relative standard deviation) increases from ~10 to 15% as sun elevation increases. Inter-model diversity in atmospheric and surface forcing decreases with increased aerosol absorption, indicating that the treatment of multiple-scattering is more variable than aerosol absorption in the models considered. Aerosol radiative forcing results from multi-stream models are generally in better agreement with the line-by-line results than the simpler two-stream schemes. Considering radiative fluxes, model performance is generally the same or slightly better than results from previous radiation scheme intercomparisons. However, the inter-model diversity in aerosol radiative forcing remains large, primarily as a result of the treatment of multiple-scattering. Results indicate that global models that estimate aerosol radiative forcing with two-stream radiation schemes may be subject to persistent biases introduced by these schemes, particularly for regional aerosol forcing.

Intercomparison of shortwave radiative transfer schemes in global aerosol modeling: results from the AeroCom Radiative Transfer Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randles, C. A.; Kinne, S.; Myhre, G.; Schulz, M.; Stier, P.; Fischer, J.; Doppler, L.; Highwood, E.; Ryder, C.; Harris, B.; Huttunen, J.; Ma, Y.; Pinker, R. T.; Mayer, B.; Neubauer, D.; Hitzenberger, R.; Oreopoulos, L.; Lee, D.; Pitari, G.; Di Genova, G.; Quaas, J.; Rose, F. G.; Kato, S.; Rumbold, S. T.; Vardavas, I.; Hatzianastassiou, N.; Matsoukas, C.; Yu, H.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, H.; Lu, P.

2013-03-01

In this study we examine the performance of 31 global model radiative transfer schemes in cloud-free conditions with prescribed gaseous absorbers and no aerosols (Rayleigh atmosphere), with prescribed scattering-only aerosols, and with more absorbing aerosols. Results are compared to benchmark results from high-resolution, multi-angular line-by-line radiation models. For purely scattering aerosols, model bias relative to the line-by-line models in the top-of-the atmosphere aerosol radiative forcing ranges from roughly -10 to 20%, with over- and underestimates of radiative cooling at lower and higher solar zenith angle, respectively. Inter-model diversity (relative standard deviation) increases from ~10 to 15% as solar zenith angle decreases. Inter-model diversity in atmospheric and surface forcing decreases with increased aerosol absorption, indicating that the treatment of multiple-scattering is more variable than aerosol absorption in the models considered. Aerosol radiative forcing results from multi-stream models are generally in better agreement with the line-by-line results than the simpler two-stream schemes. Considering radiative fluxes, model performance is generally the same or slightly better than results from previous radiation scheme intercomparisons. However, the inter-model diversity in aerosol radiative forcing remains large, primarily as a result of the treatment of multiple-scattering. Results indicate that global models that estimate aerosol radiative forcing with two-stream radiation schemes may be subject to persistent biases introduced by these schemes, particularly for regional aerosol forcing.

Retrieval of high-spectral-resolution lidar for atmospheric aerosol optical properties profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dong; Luo, Jing; Yang, Yongying; Cheng, Zhongtao; Zhang, Yupeng; Zhou, Yudi; Duan, Lulin; Su, Lin

2015-10-01

High-spectral-resolution lidars (HSRLs) are increasingly being developed for atmospheric aerosol remote sensing applications due to the straightforward and independent retrieval of aerosol optical properties without reliance on assumptions about lidar ratio. In HSRL technique, spectral discrimination between scattering from molecules and aerosol particles is one of the most critical processes, which needs to be accomplished by means of a narrowband spectroscopic filter. To ensure a high retrieval accuracy of an HSRL system, the high-quality design of its spectral discrimination filter should be made. This paper reviews the available algorithms that were proposed for HSRLs and makes a general accuracy analysis of the HSRL technique focused on the spectral discrimination, in order to provide heuristic guidelines for the reasonable design of the spectral discrimination filter. We introduce a theoretical model for retrieval error evaluation of an HSRL instrument with general three-channel configuration. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are performed to validate the correctness of the theoretical model. Results from both the model and MC simulations agree very well, and they illustrate one important, although not well realized fact: a large molecular transmittance and a large spectral discrimination ratio (SDR, i.e., ratio of the molecular transmittance to the aerosol transmittance) are beneficial t o promote the retrieval accuracy. The application of the conclusions obtained in this paper in the designing of a new type of spectroscopic filter, that is, the field-widened Michelson interferometer, is illustrated in detail. These works are with certain universality and expected to be useful guidelines for HSRL community, especially when choosing or designing the spectral discrimination filter.

Formation of Oxidized Organic Aerosol (OOA) through Fog Processing in the Po Valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilardoni, S.; Paglione, M.; Rinaldi, M.; Giulianelli, L.; Massoli, P.; Hillamo, R. E.; Carbone, S.; Lanconelli, C.; Laaksonen, A. J.; Russell, L. M.; Poluzzi, V.; Fuzzi, S.; Facchini, C.

2014-12-01

Aqueous phase chemistry might be responsible for the formation of a significant fraction of the organic aerosol (OA) observed in the atmosphere, and could explain some of the discrepancies between OA concentration and properties predicted by models and observed in the environment. Aerosol - fog interaction and its effect on submicron aerosol properties were investigated in the Po Valley (northern Italy) during fall 2011, in the framework of the Supersite project (ARPA Emilia Romagna). Composition and physical properties of submicron aerosol were measured online by a High Resolution- Time of Flight - Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS), a Soot Photometer - Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS), and a Tandem Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (TDMPS). Organic functional group analysis was performed off-line by Hydrogen - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H-NMR) spectrometry and by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. Aerosol absorption, scattering, and total extinction were measured simultaneously with a Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), a Nephelometer, and a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Spectrometer particle extinction monitor (CAPS PMex), respectively. Water-soluble organic carbon in fog-water was characterized off-line by HR-TOF-AMS. Fourteen distinct fog events were observed. Fog dissipation left behind an aerosol enriched in particles larger than 400 nm, typical of fog and cloud processing, and dominated by secondary species, including ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and oxidized OA (OOA). Source apportionment of OA allowed us to identify OOA as the difference between total OA and primary OA (hydrocarbon like OA and biomass burning OA). The formation of OOA through fog processing is proved by the correlation of OOA concentration with hydroxyl methyl sulfonate signal and by the similarity of OOA spectra with organic mass spectra obtained by re-aerosolization of fog water samples. The oxygen to carbon ratio and the hydrogen to carbon ratio of

Physico-chemical properties of aerosols in Sao Paulo, Brazil and mechanisms of secondary organic aerosol formation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artaxo, Paulo; Ferreira de Brito, Joel; Varanda Rizzo, Luciana; Luiza Godoy, Maria; Godoy, Jose Marcus

2013-04-01

Megacities emissions are increasingly becoming a global issue, where emissions from the transportation sector play an increasingly important role. Sao Paulo is a megacity with a population of about 18 million people, 7 million cars and large-scale industrial emissions. As a result of the vehicular and industrial emissions, the air quality in Sao Paulo is bellow WMO standards for aerosol particles and ozone. Many uncertainties are found on gas- and particulate matter vehicular emission factors and their following atmospheric processes, e.g. secondary organic aerosol formation. Due to the uniqueness of the vehicular fuel in Brazil, largely based on ethanol use, such characterization currently holds further uncertainties. To improve the understanding of the role of this unique emission characteristics, we are running a source apportionment study in Sao Paulo focused on the mechanisms of organic aerosol formation. One of the goals of this study is a quantitative aerosol source apportionment focused on vehicular emissions, including ethanol and gasohol (both fuels used by light-duty vehicles). This study comprises four sampling sites with continuous measurements for one year, where trace elements and organic aerosol are being measured for PM2.5 and PM10 along with real-time NOx, O3, PM10 and CO measurements. Aerosol optical properties and size distribution are being measured on a rotation basis between sampling stations. Furthermore, a Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS) and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) are used to measure in real time VOCs and aerosol composition, respectively. Trace elements were measured using XRF and OC/EC analysis was determined with a Sunset OC/EC instrument. A TSI Nephelometer with 3 wavelengths measure light scattering and a MAAP measure black carbon. Results show aerosol number concentrations ranging between 10,000 and 35,000 cm-3, mostly concentrated in the nucleation and Aitken modes, with a peak in size at 80

SPEX: a highly accurate spectropolarimeter for atmospheric aerosol characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rietjens, J. H. H.; Smit, J. M.; di Noia, A.; Hasekamp, O. P.; van Harten, G.; Snik, F.; Keller, C. U.

2017-11-01

Global characterization of atmospheric aerosol in terms of the microphysical properties of the particles is essential for understanding the role aerosols in Earth climate [1]. For more accurate predictions of future climate the uncertainties of the net radiative forcing of aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere must be reduced [2]. Essential parameters that are needed as input in climate models are not only the aerosol optical thickness (AOT), but also particle specific properties such as the aerosol mean size, the single scattering albedo (SSA) and the complex refractive index. The latter can be used to discriminate between absorbing and non-absorbing aerosol types, and between natural and anthropogenic aerosol. Classification of aerosol types is also very important for air-quality and health-related issues [3]. Remote sensing from an orbiting satellite platform is the only way to globally characterize atmospheric aerosol at a relevant timescale of 1 day [4]. One of the few methods that can be employed for measuring the microphysical properties of aerosols is to observe both radiance and degree of linear polarization of sunlight scattered in the Earth atmosphere under different viewing directions [5][6][7]. The requirement on the absolute accuracy of the degree of linear polarization PL is very stringent: the absolute error in PL must be smaller then 0.001+0.005.PL in order to retrieve aerosol parameters with sufficient accuracy to advance climate modelling and to enable discrimination of aerosol types based on their refractive index for air-quality studies [6][7]. In this paper we present the SPEX instrument, which is a multi-angle spectropolarimeter that can comply with the polarimetric accuracy needed for characterizing aerosols in the Earth's atmosphere. We describe the implementation of spectral polarization modulation in a prototype instrument of SPEX and show results of ground based measurements from which aerosol microphysical properties are retrieved.

Spectral Absorption of Solar Radiation by Aerosols during ACE-Asia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergstrom, R. W.; Pilewskie, P.; Pommier, J.; Rabbette, M.; Russell, P. B.; Schmid, B.; Redermann, J.; Higurashi, A.; Nakajima, T.; Quinn, P. K.

2004-01-01

As part of the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia), the upward and downward spectral solar radiant fluxes were measured with the Spectral Solar Flux Radiometer (SSFR), and the aerosol optical depth was measured with the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14) aboard the Center for INterdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft. IN this paper, we examine the data obtained for two cases: a moderately thick aerosol layer, 12 April, and a relatively thin aerosol case, 16 April 2001. ON both days, the Twin Otter flew vertical profiles in the Korean Strait southeast of Gosan Island. For both days we determine the aerosol spectral absorption of the layer and estimate the spectral aerosol absorption optical depth and single-scattering albedo. The results for 12 April show that the single-scattering albedo increases with wavelength from 0.8 at 400 nm to 0.95 at 900 nm and remains essentially constant from 950 to 1700 nm. On 16 April the amount of aerosol absorption was very low; however, the aerosol single-scattering albedo appears to decrease slightly with wavelength in the visible region. We interpret these results in light of the two absorbing aerosol species observed during the ACE-asia study: mineral dust and black carbon. The results for 12 April are indicative of a mineral dust-black carbon mixture. The 16 April results are possibly caused by black carbon mixed with nonabsorbing pollution aerosols. For the 12 April case we attempt to estimate the relative contributions of the black carbon particles and the mineral dust particles. We compare our results with other estimates of the aerosol properties from a Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) satellite analysis and aerosol measurements made aboard the Twin Otter, aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ronald H Brown ship, and at ground sites in Gosan and Japan. The results indicate a relatively complicated aerosol

The Global Atmosphere Watch Aerosol Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltensperger, U.

2003-04-01

The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme is a WMO sponsored activity and currently supported by about 80 WMO member countries. It is the goal of GAW to develop and maintain long-term measurements of atmospheric constituents in order to detect trends, develop aerosol predictive capabilities and understand proc- esses. With respect to aerosols, the objective of GAW is to support a global network determining the spatio-temporal distribution of aerosol properties related to climate forcing and air quality up to multi-decadal time scales. The GAW network consists of 22 Global stations and some 300 Regional stations. The Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for Aerosols will soon publish their recommendations for aerosol measurements. Each site should have an acceptable aerosol sampling inlet. Regional stations measure aerosol optical depth, as well as the aerosol light scattering and absorption coefficient. If possible these should be complemented by routine mass concentration and composition measurements in two aerosol size fractions. At Global stations, a larger number of measurements are desirable. These include the Regional parameters list above as well as the light scattering, hemispheric backscat- tering, and absorption coefficients at various wavelengths, aerosol number concen- tration, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration at 0.5% supersaturation, and diffuse, global and direct solar radiation. Additional parameters such as the aerosol size distribution, detailed size fractionated chemical composition, dependence of aerosol properties on relative humidity, CCN concentration at various supersatura- tions, and the vertical distribution of aerosol properties should be measured intermit- tently at Global stations. Examples from the Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps, 3580 m asl) will be given, where many of the parameters listed above are measured. Data are delivered to and made available by the World Data Centre for Aerosols (WDCA, located in Ispra, Italy http

Constraints on Martian Aerosol Particles Using MGS/TES and HST Data: Shapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolff, M. J.; Clancy, R. T.; Pitman, K. M.; Bell, J. F.; James, P. B.

2001-12-01

In order to constrain the shape of water ice and dust aerosols, we have combined a numerical approach for axisymmetric particle shapes, i.e., cylinders, disks, spheroids (Waterman's T-Matrix approach as improved by Mishchenko and collaborators; cf., Mishchenko et al. 1997, JGR, 102, D14, 16,831), with a multiple-scattering radiative transfer algorithm. We utilize a two-stage iterative process. First, we empirically derive a scattering phase function for each aerosol component from radiative transfer models of Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer Emission Phase Function (EPF) sequences. Next, we perform a series of scattering calculations, adjusting our parameters to arrive at a ``best-fit'' theoretical phase function. It is important to note that in addition to randomly-oriented particles, we explicitly consider the possibility of (partially) aligned aerosol particles as well. Thus far, we have been analyzing the three empirically-derived presented by Clancy et al. (this meeting): dust, Type I ice particles (effective radii ~ 1-2 microns), and Type II ice particles (effective radii ~ 3-4 microns). We find that the ``dust'' phase function is best fit by randomly-oriented cylinders with an axial ratio (D/L = diameter-to-length) of either 2.3 or 0.6. Similarly, the shape of the Type II ice curve is reasonably reproduced by randomly-oriented spheroids with an axial ratio of either 0.7 or 1.4. However, neither of the two shapes (nor that of spheres or randomly-oriented hexagonal prisms) can reproduce the phase function derived for the Type I ice. This led to the direct consideration of oriented or aligned particles. which, at least qualitatively, have the ability to account for the phase function shapes for both Type I and II ice particles. The difference between these two phase functions may represent the degree of alignment, with the Type II particles being much less-aligned. The calculations for partially aligned particles is quite numerically intensive

Retrieving the Height of Smoke and Dust Aerosols by Synergistic Use of Multiple Satellite Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jaehwa; Hsu, N. Christina; Bettenhausen, Corey; Sayer, Andrew M.; Seftor, Colin J.; Jeong, Myeong-Jae

2016-01-01

The Aerosol Single scattering albedo and Height Estimation (ASHE) algorithm was first introduced in Jeong and Hsu (2008) to provide aerosol layer height and single scattering albedo (SSA) for biomass burning smoke aerosols. By using multiple satellite sensors synergistically, ASHE can provide the height information over much broader areas than lidar observations alone. The complete ASHE algorithm uses aerosol data from MODIS or VIIRS, OMI or OMPS, and CALIOP. A simplified algorithm also exists that does not require CALIOP data as long as the SSA of the aerosol layer is provided by another source. Several updates have recently been made: inclusion of dust layers in the retrieval process, better determination of the input aerosol layer height from CALIOP, improvement in aerosol optical depth (AOD) for nonspherical dust, development of quality assurance (QA) procedure, etc.

A Simple Model for the Cloud Adjacency Effect and the Apparent Bluing of Aerosols Near Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshak, Alexander; Wen, Guoyong; Coakley, James A., Jr.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Loeb,Norman G.; Cahalan, Robert F.

2008-01-01

In determining aerosol-cloud interactions, the properties of aerosols must be characterized in the vicinity of clouds. Numerous studies based on satellite observations have reported that aerosol optical depths increase with increasing cloud cover. Part of the increase comes from the humidification and consequent growth of aerosol particles in the moist cloud environment, but part comes from 3D cloud-radiative transfer effects on the retrieved aerosol properties. Often, discerning whether the observed increases in aerosol optical depths are artifacts or real proves difficult. The paper provides a simple model that quantifies the enhanced illumination of cloud-free columns in the vicinity of clouds that are used in the aerosol retrievals. This model is based on the assumption that the enhancement in the cloud-free column radiance comes from enhanced Rayleigh scattering that results from the presence of the nearby clouds. The enhancement in Rayleigh scattering is estimated using a stochastic cloud model to obtain the radiative flux reflected by broken clouds and comparing this flux with that obtained with the molecules in the atmosphere causing extinction, but no scattering.

The Aerosol Models in MODTRAN: Incorporating Selected Measurements From Northern Australia

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-12-01

biomass burning smoke aerosol is modelled assuming the particles are spherical and Mie scattering theory is used to calculate the extinction and...and therefore internally mixed aerosol particles are hygroscopic . Shettle and Fenn model the growth in the size of aerosol particles and changes in...by Sutherland and Khanna [21] was to obtain measurements of the optical properties of organic -based aerosols produced by burning vegetation.

Determination of the organic aerosol mass to organic carbon ratio in IMPROVE samples.

PubMed

El-Zanan, Hazem S; Lowenthal, Douglas H; Zielinska, Barbara; Chow, Judith C; Kumar, Naresh

2005-07-01

The ratio of organic mass (OM) to organic carbon (OC) in PM(2.5) aerosols at US national parks in the IMPROVE network was estimated experimentally from solvent extraction of sample filters and from the difference between PM(2.5) mass and chemical constituents other than OC (mass balance) in IMPROVE samples from 1988 to 2003. Archived IMPROVE filters from five IMPROVE sites were extracted with dichloromethane (DCM), acetone and water. The extract residues were weighed to determine OM and analyzed for OC by thermal optical reflectance (TOR). On average, successive extracts of DCM, acetone, and water contained 64%, 21%, and 15%, respectively, of the extractable OC, respectively. On average, the non-blank-corrected recovery of the OC initially measured in these samples by TOR was 115+/-42%. OM/OC ratios from the combined DCM and acetone extracts averaged 1.92 and ranged from 1.58 at Indian Gardens, AZ in the Grand Canyon to 2.58 at Mount Rainier, WA. The average OM/OC ratio determined by mass balance was 2.07 across the IMPROVE network. The sensitivity of this ratio to assumptions concerning sulfate neutralization, water uptake by hygroscopic species, soil mass, and nitrate volatilization were evaluated. These results suggest that the value of 1.4 for the OM/OC ratio commonly used for mass and light extinction reconstruction in IMPROVE is too low.

Aerosol layer height from synergistic use of VIIRS and OMPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Hsu, N. Y. C.; Sayer, A. M.; Kim, W.; Seftor, C. J.

2017-12-01

This study presents an Aerosol Single-scattering albedo and Height Estimation (ASHE) algorithm, which retrieves the height of UV-absorbing aerosols by synergistically using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS). ASHE provides height information over a much broader area than ground-based or spaceborne lidar measurements by benefitting from the wide swaths of the two instruments used. As determination of single-scattering albedo (SSA) of the aerosol layer is the most critical part for the performance and coverage of ASHE, here we demonstrate three different strategies to constrain the SSA. First, ASHE is able to retrieve the SSA of UV-absorbing aerosols when Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) provides vertical profiles of the aerosol layer of interest. Second, Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) inversions can directly constrain the SSA of the aerosol layer when collocated with VIIRS or OMPS. Last, a SSA climatology from ASHE, AERONET, or other data sources can be used for large-scale, aged aerosol events, for which climatological SSA is well-known, at the cost of a slight decrease in retrieval accuracy. The same algorithm can be applied to measurements of similar type, such as those made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), for a long-term, consistent data record.

Validation of MODIS Aerosol Retrieval Over Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remer, Lorraine A.; Tanre, Didier; Kaufman, Yoram J.; Ichoku, Charles; Mattoo, Shana; Levy, Robert; Chu, D. Allen; Holben, Brent N.; Dubovik, Oleg; Ahmad, Ziauddin;

Aircraft Measurements of Aerosol Phase Matrix Elements by the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolgos, G.; Martins, J.; Espinosa, R.; Dubovik, O.; Beyersdorf, A. J.; Ziemba, L. D.; Hair, J. W.

2013-12-01

Aerosols have a significant impact on the radiative balance and water cycle of our planet through influencing atmospheric radiation. Remote sensing of aerosols relies on scattering phase matrix information to retrieve aerosol properties with frequent global coverage, the assumed phase matrices must be validated by measurements. At the Laboratory for Aerosols, Clouds and Optics (LACO) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) we developed a new technique to directly measure the aerosol phase function (P11), the degree of linear polarization of the scattered light (-P12/P11), and the volume scattering coefficient (SCAT). We designed and built a portable instrument called the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer (PI-Neph), shown in Figure 1 (a). The PI-Neph successfully participated in dozens of flights of the NASA Development and Evaluation of satellite ValidatiOn Tools by Experimenters (DEVOTE) project and the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) project and the January and February deployment of the Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (Discover-AQ) mission. The ambient aerosol enters the PI-Neph through an inlet and the sample is illuminated by laser light (wavelength of 532 nm); the scattered light is imaged by a stationary wide field of view camera in the scattering angle range of 2° to 178° (in some cases stray light limited the scattering angle range to 3° to 176°). Data for P11, P12, and SCAT were taken every 12 seconds, example datasets from DEVOTE of P11 times SCAT are shown on Figure 1 (b). The talk will highlight results from the three field deployments and will show microphysical retrievals from the scattering data. The size distribution and the average complex refractive index of the ambient aerosol ensemble can be retrieved from the data by an algorithm similar to that of AERONET, as illustrated in Figure 1 (c). Particle sphericity can potentially be

Remote Sensing of Aerosol and their Radiative Properties from the MODIS Instrument on EOS-Terra Satellite: First Results and Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram; Tanre, Didier; Remer, Lorraine; Holben, Brent; Lau, William K.-M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The MODIS instrument was launched on the NASA Terra satellite in Dec. 1999. Since last Oct., the sensor and the aerosol algorithm reached maturity and provide global daily retrievals of aerosol optical thickness and properties. MODIS has 36 spectral channels in the visible to IR with resolution down to 250 m. This allows accurate cloud screening and multi-spectral aerosol retrievals. We derive the aerosol optical thickness over the ocean and most of the land areas, distinguishing between fine (mainly man-made aerosol) and coarse aerosol particles. The information is more precise over the ocean where we derive also the effective radius and scattering asymmetry parameter of the aerosol. New methods to derive the aerosol single scattering albedo are also being developed. These measurements are use to track different aerosol sources, transport and the radiative forcing at the top and bottom of the atmosphere. The AErosol RObotic NETwork of ground based radiometers is used for global validation of the satellite derived optical thickness, size parameters and single scattering albedo and measure additional aerosol parameters that cannot be derived from space.

Central Elemental Abundance Ratios In the Perseus Cluster: Resonant Scattering or SN Ia Enrichment?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dupke, Renato A.; Arnaud, Keith; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We have determined abundance ratios in the core of the Perseus Cluster for several elements. These ratios indicate a central dominance of Type 1a supernova (SN Ia) ejects similar to that found for A496, A2199 and A3571. Simultaneous analysis of ASCA spectra from SIS1, GIS2, and GIS3 shows that the ratio of Ni to Fe abundances is approx. 3.4 +/- 1.1 times solar within the central 4'. This ratio is consistent with (and more precise than) that observed in other clusters whose central regions are dominated by SN Ia ejecta. Such a large Ni overabundance is predicted by "convective deflagration" explosion models for SNe Ia such as W7 but is inconsistent with delayed detonation models. We note that with current instrumentation the Ni K(alpha) line is confused with Fe K(beta) and that the Ni overabundance we observe has been interpreted by others as an anomalously large ratio of Fe K(beta) to Fe K(alpha) caused by resonant scattering in the Fe K(alpha) line. We argue that a central enhancement of SN Ia ejecta and hence a high ratio of Ni to Fe abundances are naturally explained by scenarios that include the generation of chemical gradients by suppressed SN Ia winds or ram pressure stripping of cluster galaxies. It is not necessary to suppose that the intracluster gas is optically thick to resonant scattering of the Fe K(alpha) line.

Detecting Thin Cirrus in Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer Aerosol Retrievals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierce, Jeffrey R.; Kahn, Ralph A.; Davis, Matt R.; Comstock, Jennifer M.

2010-01-01

Thin cirrus clouds (optical depth (OD) < 03) are often undetected by standard cloud masking in satellite aerosol retrieval algorithms. However, the Mu]tiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) aerosol retrieval has the potential to discriminate between the scattering phase functions of cirrus and aerosols, thus separating these components. Theoretical tests show that MISR is sensitive to cirrus OD within Max{0.05 1 20%l, similar to MISR's sensitivity to aerosol OD, and MISR can distinguish between small and large crystals, even at low latitudes, where the range of scattering angles observed by MISR is smallest. Including just two cirrus components in the aerosol retrieval algorithm would capture typical MISR sensitivity to the natural range of cinus properties; in situations where cirrus is present but the retrieval comparison space lacks these components, the retrieval tends to underestimate OD. Generally, MISR can also distinguish between cirrus and common aerosol types when the proper cirrus and aerosol optical models are included in the retrieval comparison space and total column OD is >-0.2. However, in some cases, especially at low latitudes, cirrus can be mistaken for some combinations of dust and large nonabsorbing spherical aerosols, raising a caution about retrievals in dusty marine regions when cirrus is present. Comparisons of MISR with lidar and Aerosol Robotic Network show good agreement in a majority of the cases, but situations where cirrus clouds have optical depths >0.15 and are horizontally inhomogeneous on spatial scales shorter than 50 km pose difficulties for cirrus retrieval using the MISR standard aerosol algorithm..

Effects of aerosol species on atmospheric visibility in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang-Gai Lee; Chung-Shin Yuan; Jui-Cheng Chang

2005-07-01

Visibility data collected from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, for the past two decades indicated that the air pollutants have significantly degraded visibility in recent years. During the study period, the seasonal mean visibilities in spring, summer, fall, and winter were only 5.4, 9.1, 8.2, and 3.4 km, respectively. To ascertain how urban aerosols influence the visibility, we conducted concurrent visibility monitoring and aerosol sampling in 1999 to identify the principal causes of visibility impairments in the region. In this study, ambient aerosols were sampled and analyzed for 11 constituents, including water-soluble ions and carbon materials, to investigate the chemical composition ofmore » Kaohsiung aerosols. Stepwise regression method was used to correlate the impact of aerosol species on visibility impairments. Both seasonal and diurnal variation patterns were found from the monitoring of visibility. Results showed that light scattering was attributed primarily to aerosols with sizes that range from 0.26 to 0.90 {mu}m, corresponding with the wavelength region of visible light, which accounted for {approximately} 72% of the light scattering coefficient. Sulfate was a dominant component that affected both the light scattering coefficient and the visibility in the region. On average, (NH{sub 4}){sup 2}SO{sub 4}, NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3}, total carbon, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-remainder contributed 53%, 17%, 16%, and 14% to total light scattering, respectively. An empirical regression model of visibility based on sulfate, elemental carbon, and humidity was developed, and the comparison indicated that visibility in an urban area could be properly simulated by the equation derived herein. 35 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs.« less

Aerosol Classification from High Spectral Resolution Lidar Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, S. P.; Hair, J. W.; Ferrare, R. A.; Hostetler, C. A.; Kahnert, M.; Vaughan, M. A.; Cook, A. L.; Harper, D. B.; Berkoff, T.; Seaman, S. T.; Collins, J. E., Jr.; Fenn, M. A.; Rogers, R. R.

2015-12-01

The NASA Langley airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidars, HSRL-1 and HSRL-2, have acquired large datasets of vertically resolved aerosol extinction, backscatter, and depolarization during >30 airborne field missions since 2006. The lidar measurements of aerosol intensive parameters like lidar ratio and color ratio embed information about intrinsic aerosol properties, and are combined to qualitatively classify HSRL aerosol measurements into aerosol types. Knowledge of aerosol type is important for assessing aerosol radiative forcing, and can provide useful information for source attribution studies. However, atmospheric aerosol is frequently not a single pure type, but instead is a mixture, which affects the optical and radiative properties of the aerosol. We show that aerosol intensive parameters measured by lidar can be understood using mixing rules for cases of external mixing. Beyond coarse classification and mixing between classes, variations in the lidar aerosol intensive parameters provide additional insight into aerosol processes and composition. This is illustrated by depolarization measurements at three wavelengths, 355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm, made by HSRL-2. Particle depolarization ratio is an indicator of non-spherical particles. Three cases each have a significantly different spectral dependence of the depolarization ratio, related to the size of the depolarizing particles. For two dust cases, large non-spherical particles account for the depolarization of the lidar light. The spectral dependence reflects the size distribution of these particles and reveals differences in the transport histories of the two plumes. For a smoke case, the depolarization is inferred to be due to the presence of small coated soot aggregates. Interestingly, the depolarization at 355 nm is similar for this smoke case compared to the dust cases, having potential implications for the upcoming EarthCARE satellite, which will measure particle depolarization ratio only at 355 nm.

Ratioed scatter diagrams - An erotetic method for phase identification on complex surfaces using scanning Auger microscopy